Editing Voyager 1 (section)

=== Heliosheath ===

On March 31, 2006, [[amateur radio operator]]s from [[AMSAT]] in Germany tracked and received radio waves from ''Voyager 1'' using the {{convert|20|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us}} dish at [[Bochum]] with a long integration technique. Retrieved data was checked and verified against data from the [[Deep Space Network]] station at Madrid, Spain. This seems to be the first such amateur tracking of ''Voyager 1''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voyager 1 received by AMSAT-DL group – Official Website of AMSAT-SM Sweden |url=https://www.amsat.se/2006/04/02/voyager-1-received-by-amsat-dl-group/ |website=amsat.se |access-date=April 5, 2024 |archive-date=April 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405101446/https://www.amsat.se/2006/04/02/voyager-1-received-by-amsat-dl-group/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

It was confirmed on December 13, 2010, that ''Voyager 1'' had passed the reach of the radial outward flow of the [[solar wind]], as measured by the Low Energy Charged Particle device. It is suspected that solar wind at this distance turns sideways because of interstellar wind pushing against the heliosphere. Since June 2010, detection of solar wind had been consistently at zero, providing conclusive evidence of the event.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2010 |title=Voyager 1 Sees Solar Wind Decline |url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=36121 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614073203/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=36121 |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=September 16, 2013 |publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krimigis |first1=S.M. |last2=Roelof |first2=E.C. |last3=Decker |first3=R.B. |last4=Hill |first4=M.E. |year=2011 |title=Zero outward flow velocity for plasma in a heliosheath transition layer |journal=Nature |volume=474 |issue=7351 |pages=359–361 |bibcode=2011Natur.474..359K |doi=10.1038/nature10115 |pmid=21677754 |s2cid=4345662}}</ref> On this date, the spacecraft was approximately {{Convert|116|AU|e9km e9mi|abbr=unit}} from the Sun.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=December 14, 2010 |title=Voyager near Solar System's edge |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11988466 |url-status=live |access-date=December 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122034204/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11988466 |archive-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>

''Voyager 1'' was commanded to change its orientation to measure the sideways motion of the solar wind at that location in space in March 2011 (~33yr 6mo from launch). A test roll done in February had confirmed the spacecraft's ability to maneuver and reorient itself. The course of the spacecraft was not changed. It rotated 70 degrees counterclockwise with respect to Earth to detect the solar wind. This was the first time the spacecraft had done any major maneuvering since the [[Family Portrait (Voyager)|''Family Portrait'' photograph]] of the planets was taken in 1990. After the first roll the spacecraft had no problem in reorienting itself with [[Alpha Centauri]], ''Voyager 1''<nowiki/>'s guide star, and it resumed sending transmissions back to Earth. ''Voyager 1'' was expected to enter interstellar space "at any time". ''Voyager 2'' was still detecting outward flow of solar wind at that point but it was estimated that in the following months or years it would experience the same conditions as ''Voyager 1''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NASA |title=Voyager – The Interstellar Mission |url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/news/answer_wind.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927125706/http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/news/answer_wind.html |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |access-date=September 16, 2013 |publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 9, 2011 |title=Voyager: Still dancing 17 billion km from Earth |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12688246 |url-status=live |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928220350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12688246 |archive-date=September 28, 2018}}</ref>

The spacecraft was reported at 12.44° declination and 17.163 hours right ascension, and at an ecliptic latitude of 34.9° (the ecliptic latitude changes very slowly), placing it in the constellation [[Ophiuchus]] as observed from the Earth on May 21, 2011.<ref name="nasa-1990" />

On December 1, 2011, it was announced that ''Voyager 1'' had detected the first [[Lyman series|Lyman-alpha radiation]] originating from the [[Milky Way]] galaxy. Lyman-alpha radiation had previously been detected from other galaxies, but because of interference from the Sun, the radiation from the Milky Way was not detectable.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 1, 2011 |title=Voyager Probes Detect 'invisible' Milky Way Glow |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/111201-voyager-probes-milky-way-light-hydrogen-sun-nasa-space |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421164043/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/111201-voyager-probes-milky-way-light-hydrogen-sun-nasa-space |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2021 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=December 4, 2011}}</ref>

NASA announced on December 5, 2011, that ''Voyager 1'' had entered a new region referred to as a "cosmic purgatory". Within this stagnation region, charged particles streaming from the Sun slow and turn inward, and the Solar System's magnetic field is doubled in strength as interstellar space appears to be applying pressure. Energetic particles originating in the Solar System decline by nearly half, while the detection of high-energy electrons from outside increases 100-fold. The inner edge of the stagnation region is located approximately 113 AU from the Sun.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 6, 2011 |title=Spacecraft enters 'cosmic purgatory' |work=CNN |url=http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/spacecraft-enters-cosmic-purgatory/ |url-status=dead |access-date=December 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607115011/http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/spacecraft-enters-cosmic-purgatory/ |archive-date=June 7, 2019}}</ref>