Nasa denies report that Voyager left solar system
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This artist's concept shows Nasa's Voyager encountering Saturn on the twin spacecrafts tour of the solar system in this handout provided by Nasa. The United States (US) space agency on Wednesday denied a claim made in a scientific study that its Voyager 1 spacecraft had left the solar system, describing the report as "premature". -- PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States (US) space agency on Wednesday denied a claim made in a scientific study that its Voyager 1 spacecraft had left the solar system, describing the report as "premature".
Scientists are eagerly awaiting signs that the craft, which was launched in 1977 on a mission to study planets, has become the first man-made object to leave the boundaries of our solar system.
A scientific paper that purported to describe this departure appeared on the American Geophysical Union's web site.
It said Voyager 1 "appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere", or the magnetic bubble of charged particles that surround the solar system.
