Solarmap.png

Summary

Description Solarmap.png	The Scale of the Heliosphere and Nearby Galactic Neighborhood The solar system and its nearby galactic neighborhood are illustrated here on a logarithmic scale extending (from < 1 to) 1 million Astronomical Units (AU). Our Sun and its planets are shielded by a bubble of solar wind - the heliosphere - that is about 120 AU in size. The actual boundary between solar wind and interstellar plasma is called the heliopause. Beyond this bubble is a largely unknown region - the interstellar medium. Threaded through the boundaries of the heliosphere is the Kuiper Belt - the source of short-period comets. The nearest edge of the interstellar cloud that presently surrounds our solar system is thought to be several thousand AU away. The Oort Cloud is a spherical shell of comets extending from <10,000 to ~100,000 AU - the edge of our Sun's gravitational sphere of influence. Alpha-Centauri, the best known member of our nearest star system, lies well beyond at ~300,000 AU. Interstellar Probe is to be man's first spacecraft designed to exit the heliosphere and begin the exploration of the interstellar medium. NOTE: the bow shock depicted here probably does not exist.
Source	http://interstellar.jpl.nasa.gov/interstellar/probe/introduction/scale.html
Author	This file is lacking author information.
Other versions	Intended as a replacement for Image:Solarmap.gif العربيَّة File:Universe10PCL1999.xcf (layered file, GIMP format)

	This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA . NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted ". (See Template:PD-USGov , NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy .)
	Warnings: Use of NASA logos , insignia and emblems is restricted per U.S. law 14 CFR 1221 . The NASA website hosts a large number of images from the Soviet / Russian space agency , and other non-American space agencies. These are not necessarily in the public domain. Materials based on Hubble Space Telescope data may be copyrighted if they are not explicitly produced by the STScI . [1] See also {{PD-Hubble}} and {{Cc-Hubble}} . The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted. [3] The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) site has been known to host copyrighted content . Its photo gallery FAQ states that all of the images in the photo gallery are in the public domain "Unless otherwise noted."

The original description page was here . All following user names refer to en.wikipedia.

2007-11-28 18:34 Tene 1000×605×8 (323246 bytes) [http://interstellar.jpl.nasa.gov/interstellar/probe/introduction/scale.html source] Intended as a replacement for [[Image:Solarmap.gif]] {{PD-USGov-NASA}}