Since launch in Oct. 2008, IBEX, with its two energetic neutral atom (ENA) cameras, has provided humankind with the first-ever global images of the complex boundary separating the heliosphere from the local interstellar medium (LISM). IBEX’s energy-resolved all-sky maps, collected every six months, are yielding remarkable new insights into the heliospheres structure as it is shaped by the combined forces of the local interstellar flow, the local interstellar magnetic field (LISMF), and the evolving solar wind. IBEX has also acquired the first images of ENAs backscattered from the surface of the moon as well as global images of the magnetospheric response to solar wind disturbances. IBEX thus addresses all three Heliophysics science objectives set forth in the 2014 Science Plan for NASAs Science Mission Directorate (SMD) as well as the goals in the recent Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey (NRC 2012). In addition, with the information it provides on the properties of the LISM and the LISMF, IBEX represents a unique bridge between heliophysics and astrophysics, and fills in critical knowledge for understanding the habitability of exoplanetary systems and the future habitability of Earth and the solar system. Because of the few-year time lag due to solar wind and ENA transport, IBEX observed the solar wind/ LISM interaction characteristic of declining phase/solar minimum conditions. In the continuing mission, IBEX captures the response of the interstellar boundaries to the changing structure of the solar wind in its transition toward the “mini” solar maximum and possibly the decline into the next solar minimum. The continuing IBEX mission affords never-to-be-repeated opportunities to coordinate global imaging of the heliospheric boundary with in-situ measurements by the Voyagers as they pass beyond the heliopause and start to directly sample the LISM.
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25 March 2016
SOLAR WIND 14: Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Solar Wind Conference
22–26 June 2015
Weihai, China
Research Article|
March 25 2016
Energetic neutral atom and interstellar flow observations with IBEX: Implications for the global heliosphere
N. A. Schwadron;
N. A. Schwadron
a)
1
University of New Hampshire
, Durham NH, 03824, USA
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
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D. J. McComas;
D. J. McComas
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
3
University of Texas
, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
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E. R. Christian;
E. R. Christian
4
Goddard Space Flight Center
, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
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M. I. Desai;
M. I. Desai
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
3
University of Texas
, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
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H. O. Funsten;
H. O. Funsten
5
Los Alamos National Laboratory
, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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S. A. Fuselier;
S. A. Fuselier
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
3
University of Texas
, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA
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E. Moebius;
E. Moebius
1
University of New Hampshire
, Durham NH, 03824, USA
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M. Reno;
M. Reno
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
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J. Scherrer;
J. Scherrer
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
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E. Zirnstein;
E. Zirnstein
2
Southwest Research Institute
, San Antonio, TX, 78238, USA
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On Behalf of the Entire IBEX Team
On Behalf of the Entire IBEX Team
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a)
Corresponding author: [email protected]
AIP Conf. Proc. 1720, 080002 (2016)
Citation
N. A. Schwadron, D. J. McComas, E. R. Christian, M. I. Desai, H. O. Funsten, S. A. Fuselier, E. Moebius, M. Reno, J. Scherrer, E. Zirnstein, On Behalf of the Entire IBEX Team; Energetic neutral atom and interstellar flow observations with IBEX: Implications for the global heliosphere. AIP Conf. Proc. 25 March 2016; 1720 (1): 080002. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943851
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