Voyager observations show that the inner heliosheath is characterized by high intensity of the energetic (E>28 keV) ions. Due to neutralization of these ions, the heliosheath is an important source of the energetic neutral atoms, which in turn can be observed in the inner solar system. The fluxes of the energetic hydrogen (58–88 keV) and helium (28–58 keV/n) atoms from the heliosheath have been measured by the instrument HSTOF on board SOHO. By combining these observations with the Voyager post‐shock ion data it is possible to estimate the parameters of the inner heliosheath. We discuss recent developments related to this approach.
Since Voyager ion data are restricted to the “nose” part of the heliosheath, they cannot be used to interpret the ENA observations of the flanks or the tail region. We use a simple model of the heliosphere to study the effects of the transport and loss mechanisms shaping the ion density distribution in the different regions.
