NASA's Voyager 2 probe has left the protective bubble around the sun and is flying through interstellar space.
It is the second human-made object to travel so far, the US space agency said.
The announcement came six years after its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, broke the outer boundary of the heliopause, where the hot solar wind meets the cold, dense space between stars, known as the interstellar medium.
Voyager 2 is now more than 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometres) from Earth, having passed the boundary on November 5.
NASA's Voyager 2 probe (pictured) has left the protective bubble around the sun and is flying through interstellar space. It is the second human-made object to travel so far, the US space agency said
The announcement came six years after its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, broke the outer boundary of the heliopause, where the hot solar wind meets the cold, dense space between stars, known as the interstellar medium
The news was revealed at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington.
Comparing data from different instruments aboard the spacecraft, mission scientists believe the probe crossed the outer edge of the heliosphere on Wednesday last week.
'This time is even better for us,' said Nicky Fox, director of the heliophysics division at NASA, noting that one instrument, called the Plasma Science Experiment (PLS), is still functioning on Voyager 2.
'To have the Voyagers sending back information about the edge of the Sun's influence gives us an unprecedented glimpse of truly uncharted territory.'
The same instrument on Voyager 1 - which crossed this boundary in 2012 - stopped working in 1980.
However, Voyager 2 still carries the instrument that will provide first-of-its-kind observations of the nature of this gateway into interstellar space.
The two spacecraft, which look like a combination of a satellite dish and an old television set with rabbit ear antennas, were launched in 1977 on a mission to explore planets in our solar system.
The twin probes have left the heliosphere, but have not yet left the solar system, 'and won't be leaving anytime soon,' NASA said in a statement.
The boundary of the solar system is considered to be beyond the outer edge of the Oort Cloud.
This is a collection of small objects that are still under the influence of the sun's gravity.
The width of the Oort Cloud is not known precisely, but it is estimated to begin at about 1,000 astronomical units (AU) from the sun and to extend to about 100,000 AU.
One AU is the distance from the sun to Earth.
It will take about 300 years for Voyager 2 to reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud and possibly 30,000 years to fly beyond it.
The most compelling evidence (left) of Voyager 2's exit from the heliosphere came from its onboard Plasma Science Experiment (right), an instrument that stopped working on Voyager 1 in 1980, long before that probe crossed the heliopause
NASA'S HISTORIC INSTERSTELLAR VOYAGER MISSION
The Voyager spacecraft were built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which continues to operate both.
Nasa launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 5 1977, and the Voyager 2 on August 20 1977.
Each spacecraft carries a golden record on board – a record that includes sounds, pictures and messages of Earth.
Continuing on their more-than-37-year journey since their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the sun than Pluto.
In August 2012, Voyager 1 made the historic entry into interstellar space, the region between stars, filled with material ejected by the death of nearby stars millions of years ago.
Humanity's farthest and longest-live spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, are celebrating 40 years of operation and exploration this month. Nasa launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft on September 5 1977, and the Voyager 2 on August 20 1977
This archival photo shows engineers working on the Voyager 2 spacecraft on March 23, 1977. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have flown by all four outer planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Scientists hope to learn more about this region when Voyager 2, in the 'heliosheath' -- the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar medium -- also reaches interstellar space.
Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network, or DSN.
The primary mission was the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn.
After making a string of discoveries there -- such as active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io and intricacies of Saturn's rings -- the mission was extended.
Voyager 2 went on to explore Uranus and Neptune, and is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets.
The adventurers' current mission, the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), will explore the outermost edge of the sun's domain. And beyond.
Source: NASA
'We're looking forward to what we'll be able to learn from having both probes outside the heliopause,' said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Voyager 2 is officially NASA's longest-running mission.
The two spacecraft were designed to last five years and study Jupiter and Saturn.
'Both spacecraft are very healthy, if you consider them senior citizens,' said Suzanne Dodd, Director for the Interplanetary Network Directorate, as the science results were unveiled at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in the US capital.
The PLS uses the electrical current of the plasma to detect the speed, density, temperature, pressure and flux of the solar wind. The PLS aboard Voyager 2 observed a steep decline in the speed of the solar wind particles on 5 November
Voyager's team members are eager to continue to study the data from onboard instruments to get a clearer picture of the environment through which Voyager 2 (pictured) is travelling
Until recently, the space surrounding Voyager 2 was filled predominantly with plasma flowing out from our sun.
This outflow, called the solar wind, creates a bubble – the heliosphere – that envelopes the planets in our solar system.
The PLS uses the electrical current of the plasma to detect the speed, density, temperature, pressure and flux of the solar wind.
The PLS aboard Voyager 2 observed a steep decline in the speed of the solar wind particles on 5 November.
This is consistent with the conclusion that Voyager 2 has crossed the heliopause.
Voyager's team members are eager to continue to study the data from these other on-board instruments to get a clearer picture of the environment through which Voyager 2 is travelling.
A key concern is power, and NASA has to keep shutting down instruments to reserve power. But they may have five to 10 years left of life, she said.
Each spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages, which aims to serve as evidence of Earth's civilisation.
NASA also is preparing an additional mission – the upcoming Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), due to launch in 2024 – to capitalise on the Voyagers' observations.
Each spacecraft carries a golden record on board – a record that includes sounds, pictures and messages of Earth
Uranus' icy moon Miranda is seen in this image from Voyager 2 on January 24, 1986. It will take about 300 years for Voyager 2 to reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud and possibly 30,000 years to fly beyond it
'Voyager has a very special place for us in our heliophysics fleet,' said Dr Fox.
'Our studies start at the Sun and extend out to everything the solar wind touches.
'To have the Voyagers sending back information about the edge of the sun's influence gives us an unprecedented glimpse of truly uncharted territory.'
The Voyager probes are powered using heat from the decay of radioactive material, contained in a device called a radioisotope thermal generator (RTG).
Members of NASA's Voyager team will discuss the findings at a news conference at 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST) today at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington.
The news conference will stream live on the agency's website.
Neptune's blue-green atmosphere is shown in greater detail than ever before by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The Voyager probes are powered using heat from the decay of radioactive material
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News Pictures Nasa's Voyager 2 becomes the second man-made object to leave our solar system
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TEENS
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