NASA serves up first glance at solar system's comet-like tail

An illustration of the heliotail that trails our solar system's journey through the Milky Way.

While Earth spins around the sun at around 67,000 mph, the sun rotates around the Milky Way galaxy at a zippy 140 miles per second. With such a massive force moving through space, there's bound to be a trail of cosmic dust following behind, but it's always been a mystery -- until now. For the first time, scientists have combined the observations of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite and mapped the solar system's tail, but the length remains unclear. (cnet.com)