The Sun moves through the local interstellar medium, continuously emitting ionized, supersonic solar wind plasma and carving out a cavity in interstellar space called the heliosphere. The recently launched Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft has completed its first all-sky maps of the interstellar interaction at the edge of the heliosphere by imaging energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) emanating from this region. We found a bright ribbon of ENA emission, unpredicted by prior models or theories, that may be ordered by the local interstellar magnetic field interacting with the heliosphere. This ribbon is superposed on globally distributed flux variations ordered by both the solar wind structure and the direction of motion through the interstellar medium. Our results indicate that the external galactic environment strongly imprints the heliosphere.

As the Sun moves through the local interstellar medium, its supersonic, ionized solar wind carves out a cavity called the heliosphere. Recent observations from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft show that the relative motion of the Sun with respect to the interstellar medium is slower and in a somewhat different direction than previously thought. Here, we provide combined consensus values for this velocity vector and show that they have important implications for the global interstellar interaction. In particular, the velocity is almost certainly slower than the fast magnetosonic speed, with no bow shock forming ahead of the heliosphere, as was widely expected in the past.

Simulations of energetic neutral atom (ENA) maps predict flux magnitudes that are, in some cases, similar to those observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, but they miss the ribbon. Our model of the heliosphere indicates that the local interstellar medium (LISM) magnetic field (B(LISM)) is transverse to the line of sight (LOS) along the ribbon, suggesting that the ribbon may carry its imprint. The force-per-unit area on the heliopause from field line draping and the LISM ram pressure is comparable with the ribbon pressure if the LOS approximately 30 to 60 astronomical units and B(LISM) approximately 2.5 microgauss. Although various models have advantages in accounting for some of the observations, no model can explain all the dominant features, which probably requires a substantial change in our understanding of the processes that shape our heliosphere.

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is a small explorer mission that launched on 19 October 2008 with the sole, focused science objective to discover the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. IBEX is designed to achieve this objective by answering four fundamental science questions: (1) What is the global strength and structure of the termination shock, (2) How are energetic protons accelerated at the termination shock, (3) What are the global properties of the solar wind flow beyond the termination shock and in the heliotail, and (4) How does the interstellar flow interact with the heliosphere beyond the heliopause? The answers to these questions rely on energyresolved images of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), which originate beyond the termination shock, in the inner heliosheath. To make these exploratory ENA observations IBEX carries two ultra-high sensitivity ENA cameras on a simple spinning spacecraft. IBEX's very high apogee Earth orbit was achieved using a new and significantly enhanced method for launching small satellites; this orbit allows viewing of the outer heliosphere from beyond the Earth's relatively bright magnetospheric ENA emissions. The combination of full-sky imaging and energy spectral measurements of ENAs over the range from ∼10 eV to 6 keV provides the critical information to allow us to achieve our science objective and understand this global interaction for the first time. The IBEX mission was developed to provide the first global views of the Sun's interstellar boundaries, unveiling the physics of the heliosphere's interstellar interaction, providing a deeper understanding of the heliosphere and thereby astrospheres throughout the galaxy, and creating the opportunity to make even greater unanticipated discoveries.

Aims. We study the EUV/soft X-ray emission generated by charge transfer between solar wind heavy ions and interstellar neutral atoms and variations of the X-ray intensities and spectra with the line of sight direction, the observer location, the solar cycle phase and the solar wind anisotropies, and a temporary enhancement of the solar wind similar to the event observed by Snowden et al. (2004) during the XMM-Hubble Deep Field North exposure. Methods. Using recent observations of the neutral atoms combined with updated cross-sections and cascading photon spectra we have computed self-consistent distributions of interstellar hydrogen, helium and highly charged solar wind ions for a stationary solar wind and we have constructed monochromatic emission maps and spectra. We have evaluated separately the contribution of the heliosheath and heliotail, and included X-ray emission of the excited solar wind ions produced in sequential collisions to the signal. Results. In most practicable observations, the low and medium latitude X-ray emission is significantly higher at minimum activity than at maximum, especially around December. This occurs due to a strong depletion of neutrals during the high activity phase, which is not compensated by an increase of the solar wind flux. For high latitudes the emission depends on the ion species in a complex way. Intensity maps are in general significantly different for observations separated by six-month intervals. Secondary ions are found to make a negligible contribution to the X-ray line of sight intensities, because their density becomes significant only at large distances. The contribution of the heliosheath-heliotail is always smaller than 5%. We can reproduce both the intensity range and the temporal variation of the XMM-HDFN emission lines in the 0.52-0.75 keV interval, using a simple enhanced solar wind spiral stream. This suggests a dominant heliospheric origin for these lines, before, during and also after the event.

Magnetic fields play an important (sometimes dominant) role in the evolution of gas clouds in the Galaxy, but the strength and orientation of the field in the interstellar medium near the heliosphere has been poorly constrained. Previous estimates of the field strength range from 1.8-2.5 microG and the field was thought to be parallel to the Galactic plane or inclined by 38-60 degrees (ref. 2) or 60-90 degrees (ref. 3) to this plane. These estimates relied either on indirect observational inferences or modelling in which the interstellar neutral hydrogen was not taken into account. Here we report measurements of the deflection of the solar wind plasma flows in the heliosheath to determine the magnetic field strength and orientation in the interstellar medium. We find that the field strength in the local interstellar medium is 3.7-5.5 microG. The field is tilted approximately 20-30 degrees from the interstellar medium flow direction (resulting from the peculiar motion of the Sun in the Galaxy) and is at an angle of about 30 degrees from the Galactic plane. We conclude that the interstellar medium field is turbulent or has a distortion in the solar vicinity.

Abstract.Recently Lallement et al. (2005, Science, 307, 1447 reported that the direction of the flow of interstellar neutral hydrogen in the heliosphere is deflected by ∼4• from the direction of the pristine local interstellar gas flow. The most probable physical phenomenon responsible for such a deviation is the interstellar magnetic field inclined to the direction of the interstellar gas flow. In this case the flow of the interstellar charged component is asymmetric and distorted in the region of the solar wind interaction with the local interstellar medium, which is called the heliospheric interface. The interstellar H atoms pass through the heliospheric interface and interact with the plasma component by charge exchange. Some imprints of the asymmetry of the heliospheric plasma interface should be seen in the distribution of the interstellar H atom component. In this letter we explore this scenario quantitatively and demonstrate that our new self-consistent 3D kinetic-MHD model of the solar wind interaction with the magnetized interstellar plasma is able to produce the measured deviation in the case of a rather strong interstellar magnetic field of ∼2.5 µG inclined by ∼45• to the direction of interstellar flow.

Abstract.A coordinated effort to combine all three methods that are used to determine the physical parameters of interstellar gas in the heliosphere has been undertaken. In order to arrive at a consistent parameter set that agrees with the observations of neutral gas, pickup ions and UV backscattering we have combined data sets from coordinated observation campaigns over three years from 1998 through 2000. The key observations include pickup ions with ACE and Ulysses SWICS, neutral atoms with Ulysses GAS, as well as UV backscattering at the He focusing cone close to the Sun with SOHO UVCS and at 1 AU with EUVE. For the first time also the solar EUV irradiance that is responsible for photo ionization was monitored with SOHO CELIAS SEM, and the He I 58.4 nm line that illuminates He was observed simultaneously with SOHO SUMER. The solar wind conditions were monitored with SOHO, ACE, and WIND. Based on these data the modeling of the interstellar gas and its secondary products in the heliosphere has resulted in a consistent set of interstellar He parameters with much reduced uncertainties, which satisfy all observations, even extended to earlier data sets. It was also established that a substantial ionization in addition to photo ionization, most likely electron impact, is required, with increasing relative importance closer to the Sun. Furthermore, the total combined ionization rate varies significantly with solar latitude, requiring a fully three dimensional and time dependent treatment of the problem.