Scientists have dubbed this previously unknown region the "magnetic highway" and it's the last stop before interstellar space, or the space between stars.
The region allows charged particles from inside the heliophere to flow outward and particles from the galaxy outside to come in.
The news of Voyager's progress was presented on Monday at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
"We do believe this may be the very last layer between us and interstellar space," MSNBC reported Edward Stone, a Voyager project scientist, as saying.
"This region was not anticipated, was not predicted."
It could take up to two years for Voyager to exit the solar system, he said.
Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 launched 35 years ago on a tour of the outer planets. After they completed the tour, both spacecraft continued to hurtle toward the fringes of the solar system.
Mission chief scientist Ed Stone says it's unknown when Voyager 1 will finally break through to interstellar space. Once that happens, it'll be the first man-made object to leave the solar system.

Be a bit less awesome when it returns, nailed to nose of the the lead ship of the invading Vogon empire..

I don't know what's sadder. That you made that reference, or that I knew what you meant.

This is more exciting to me than any royal bint doing what other royal (and non-royal) bints have done for centuries.

Mark

+1

The royal bints should be axed (metaphorically).

I think the fact that I made the reference makes it worse. Knowing it is not as bad as declaring it.

How much worse is knowing that it wasn't Voyager 1 inside the nebula?

Much worse.

I had to check IMDB to find out which probe that V'Ger was actually supposed to be.

I don't know what's sadder. That you made that reference, or that I knew what you meant.

Because the reference is sooooo old.
Couldn't we have come up with someing funny that was a bit more modern?