Redfield on NASA’s IBEX Mission (with Video)

David PesciFebruary 4, 20121min
Asst. Prof. of Astronomy discusses interstellar clouds and how they affect the Sun and Earth

A story in National Geographic reported on the results from NASA’s IBEX (Interstellar Boundary Explorer) mission and quotes Assistant Professor of Astronomy Seth Redfield who was selected by NASA to discuss the mission results along with the IBEX team. Redfield’s research specialties include giant dust and gas clouds in space, known as interstellar medium (ISM). He discussed the location of a cloud surrounding our sun and parts of our solar system and its affect on the Earth and deadly solar rays. IBEX gathers data from that cloud and other ISM, and found, among other things, proof that the matter outside our solar system is very different from the matter inside it.

A video of the full IBEX press conference can be found here and includes spectacular imagery. Redfield’s comments begin at 15:20.