Voyager 2 Observations of MeV Ions in the Outer Heliosphere Over the Solar Maximum Period of Cycle 23

Over the period 2001.0 - 2005.4, (63 - 74 AU) Voyager 2 observed a series of 9 energetic particle increases that persist over some 3 - 4 solar rotations, occur with a quasi-periodicity of some 145 days and are generally associated with the passage of a merged interaction region. With the onset of GCR recovery from solar maximum levels in 2004.6 there is a marked change in the nature of the V2 energetic particle increases that suggest these new events originated at the termination shock.