Kiel 2004 – scientific programme
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EP: Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 6: Zukünftige Missionen
EP 6.3: Fachvortrag
Thursday, March 11, 2004, 12:10–12:30, C
IBEX - The Interstellar Boundary Explorer — •Horst Fichtner1 and Hans Fahr2 — 1Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Ruhr-Universität Bochum — 2Institut für Astrophysik und Extraterrestrische Forschung, Universität Bonn
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has the sole objective of discovering the global interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. IBEX achieves this objective by globally imaging Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs) that are produced by plasmas beyond the Termination Shock, the closest of the inferred interstellar boundaries at the outer edges of our heliosphere. These groundbreaking, high sensitivity ENA observations are achieved with minimal risk using two very large aperture ENA cameras on a simple sun-pointed, spinning spacecraft. IBEXs highly elliptical Earth orbit provides viewing of the outer heliosphere from beyond the relatively bright emissions of the Earths magnetosphere. IBEX measurements enable the discovery of the global nature of the termination shock and the flow patterns of the heliosheath and the heliotail. IBEX also studies particle acceleration at the termination shock and probes the interstellar interaction beyond the heliopause. In short, the IBEX mission provides the first global views of the interstellar boundaries, unveiling the physics of the heliospheres interstellar interaction, providing a deeper understanding of the heliosphere and hereby astrospheres throughout the galaxy, creating the opportunity to make even greater unanticipated discoveries, and filling in a critical missing piece of understanding in the Sun-Earth Connection Theme.