Dust to Anomalous Cosmic Rays

Energetic particles move with ease in all directions because of their high speeds, and they have many sources: the Sun, planets, comets, dust, the galactic medium beyond our heliosphere and the intergalactic medium beyond our galaxy. A component of very energetic particles called "anomalous cosmic rays," or ACRs, forms at the termination shock at the edge of our solar system. Researchers have known for a number of years that some ACRs (indicated in yellow) originate from interstellar matter that streams into our heliosphere. However, a second important ACR source (shown in blue) was discovered last year by Institute scientists: grains that drift in from the "Kuiper Belt," an ancient remnant of the disk from which the planets formed, made up of comets, boulders and dust just beyond Pluto. This "outer source" provides a remarkable connection between the birth-matter of our solar system and the most energetic particles produced by our heliosphere.

The Three-Dimensional Solar Wind Fall 2003 Technology Today
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