Mondo Knows Facts
The heliosphere shields our solar system from harmful cosmic rays
A vast magnetic bubble formed by solar wind deflects interstellar radiation
The heliosphere is a giant teardrop-shaped protective bubble in space inflated by the continuous stream of charged particles known as solar wind. Extending past Neptune and Pluto to more than 120 Astronomical Units, this magnetic bubble deflects roughly 70 percent of high-energy galactic cosmic rays.
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Tags: heliosphere, solar wind, cosmic rays
The heliosphere shields our solar system from harmful cosmic rays: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- A vast magnetic bubble formed by solar wind deflects interstellar radiation. The figure is taken from NASA Science, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a space fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.