Posted on 12/14/2010 5:54:02 PM PST by Nachum
Washington - NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has reached the outer edge of the solar system where wind from the Sun is no longer blowing outward, but sideways, the US space agency said. The spacecraft was launched in 1977 and has since snapped images of Earth and other planets in the solar system and provided NASA with crucial information as it makes its long journey into outer space. NASA researchers think Voyager 1 will leave the solar system and enter interstellar space, or the area in between the end of the Sun's influence and the next star system, in about four
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
According to that, V-Ger is about 115 AUs out. According to Wiki, 76 AU is the closest approach of Sedna.
But yes, it's a long way away to the front porch. Ping me, or remember me when it's 2 light years away, and still reporting.
/johnny
Wrong!
It was Voyager II that left our solar system first. Read all about it here.
I was part of ARIA (tail number 329) at 31,000 ft covering the launch and orbit out of Perth, Australia. That was on August 20, 1977. My story is at the bottom of the link about Voyager II.
Thanks for bringing up the memories and remember Voyager II was Number 1!!!
Cheers!
My Dad’s power supplies are powering the Voyager spacecraft! He managed the RTG development program at General Electric. Way to go, Dad! May he RIP.
Just like those Mars Rovers, it looks like we’re getting our moneys worth out of this one.
ouch.
Of course, my big fear is that after I'm dead, someone is still going to be using the software that I wrote. And unlike your dad's contribution, that would be a Bad Thing(tm).
But to have hardware still working after that long under those conditions? That's a posthumous Damn Good Thing(tm).
/johnny
While it left Earth at a higher velocity than any previous spacecraft, Voyager got a big boost in speed from its encounters with the gas giants, and is thus faster right now (and always will be).
I know New Horizons only got a gravitational boost from one planet.
WOW!
There’s still no observational evidence of the Oort cloud except for the observed orbits of comets. The Oort cloud is a conjectured source of comets.
I prefer the conjecture of the late Tom van Flandern: comets are the residual debris of colossal asteroid/moon/planetary impacts of some millions of years ago in the outer solar system, returning at last to the scene of their expulsion.
Be funny if it reached the edge and then bumped into a wall. That’d get people thinking something was up.
Thanks, Guys (Gals?). Dad showed me lots of photos of the development — really incredible stuff. They had to test the RTGs to make sure no plutonium would escape if the rockets failed to make orbit and crashed. They conducted all sorts of real failure tests to attempt to destroy the containers. It was an amazing engineering feat. I sure miss having Dad around to discuss technology. He led some amazing projects, including some really big and important ones he could never tell us kids about! I’ve met military people who know of the project and the only thing they’ll say is the same thing Dad used to say — “You can’t imagine how important this is to national security”
Correct, Jupiter (about a 3 1/2 years ago).
>>NASA researchers think Voyager 1 will leave the solar system and enter interstellar space, or the area in between the end of the Sun’s influence and the next star system, in about four years.<<
And will return as either V’ger or Nomad. Let’s hope that Captain Kirk can stop either of them in time. If not, all is lost. Run, the Earth will be destroyed.
That’s true but Pluto is a whole lot closer than the next nearest star
Only 16 more years and it will be a whole light day away. It will make it a light year in about 17,836 years if my math is correct.
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