Inhomogeneity in the Local ISM and Its Relation to the Heliosphere.

Unlabelled: This paper reviews past research and new studies underway of the local interstellar environment and its changing influence on the heliosphere. The size, shape, and physical properties of the heliosphere outside of the heliopause are determined by the surrounding environment - now the outer region of the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC). The temperature, turbulence, and velocity vector of neutral atoms and ions in the LIC and other partially ionized interstellar clouds are measured from high-resolution spectra of interstellar absorption lines observed with the STIS instrument on the .