Scientists find best way to move out of our solar system. Here's what the cosmic journey looks like

In what seems like a fascinating piece of story straight out of a space-based film,scientists are now busy charting the best way out of our solar system.

Is it even possible to travel out of our solar system? Let's try to understand.

A giant bubbleknown as a heliosphere is made up of charged particles continuously released by the Sun. The boundary of this bubble serves as our solar system's boundary.

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Hence, if humans wish to travel beyond our solar system and reach other stars, they first need to figure out a way to move beyond the heliosphere.

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Now, in a breakthrough, a team of researchers has claimed to have found the best possible way out through this giant bubble.

Moving out of the giant bubble

According to scientists, the heliosphere protects everything which is present inside it, including astronauts, planets, satellites, and other bodies that belong to the dangerous cosmic radiation.

To this date, the scientists are not sure about its size or shape. They have defined the heliosphere as the region which remains directly under the influence of the Sun.

According to some, the bubble is shaped like a croissant and few others say it is spherical. Meanwhile, others claim that it has the shape of a beach ball or bullet. The confusion over its shape is because scientists have failed to determine its exact size while remaining inside it.

“We are like goldfish trying to understand the fishbowl from the inside,” said Sarah A. Spitzer, first author of the study and University of Michigan's research fellow.

“A future interstellar probe mission will be our first opportunity to really see our heliosphere, our home, from the outside, and to better understand its place in the local interstellar medium,” she added.

Mapping the way out from heliosphere

In the new study, scientists have claimed that to exit the heliosphere, a probe will have to follow the path that goes through the side of the tail end of the heliosphere.

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The six probe trajectories, which went from noseward to tailward direction, were compared and it was discovered that a clear view of the shape of the heliosphere wasachieved when the probe moved across through the tail.

“If you want to find out how far back your house extends, walking out the front door and taking a picture from the front sidewalk is likely not your best option. The best way is to go out the side door so you can see how long it is from front to back,” said Marc Z. Kornbleuth, study author and a research scientist at Boston University.

(With inputs from agencies)