Hum Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, has reached a new milestone in its quest to leave the Solar System. Now 17.4bn km (10.8bn miles) from home, the veteran probe has detected a distinct change in the flow of particles that surround it. These particles, which emanate from the Sun, are no longer travelling outwards but are moving sideways. It means Voyager must be very close to making the jump to interstellar space - the space between the stars. Edward Stone, the Voyager project scientist, lauded the explorer and the fascinating science it continues to return 33 years after launch. Voyager 1 was launched on 5 September 1977, and its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2, on 20 August 1977. The Nasa probes' initial goal was to survey the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, a task completed in 1989. They were then despatched towards deep space, in the general direction of the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy. Sustained by their radioactive power packs, the probes' instruments continue to function well and return data to Earth, although the vast distance between them and Earth means a radio message now has a travel time of about 16 hours. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted December 14, 2010 Supervisor Share Posted December 14, 2010 Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2? Strange. It's got to be odd being someone at NASA. They launched these things 20 odd years ago and they're still providing information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 ^ The Voyager 1 probe was launched on September 5, 1977, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur carrier rocket, two weeks after its twin space probe, Voyager 2 had been launched on August 20, 1977. Despite being launched after Voyager 2, Voyager 1 was sent off on a somewhat shorter, quicker trajectory, so that it reached both Jupiter and Saturn before its sister space probe did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladmphoto Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2? Strange. It's got to be odd being someone at NASA. They launched these things 20 odd years ago and they're still providing information! Actually it's more like 33 years ago (quite a big difference) and it's surprising their instruments still work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted December 14, 2010 Supervisor Share Posted December 14, 2010 Actually it's more like 33 years ago (quite a big difference) and it's surprising their instruments still work well. Oh yeah. My maths was off, too busy trying to work at the same time! :laugh: But yeah, the point still stands that it's impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lezard Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Well the old administration, fired all the smart people or slowly replaced them with family members lol... hence the big spender, cluster f*ck we call NASA exists today :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo158 Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Actually it's more like 33 years ago (quite a big difference) and it's surprising their instruments still work well. Well, they don't make 'em like they used to!!! :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey B. Veteran Posted December 17, 2010 Veteran Share Posted December 17, 2010 has to suck being a scientist that has to wait 32 hours for a response when asking the craft for information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazhar Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 They send us information thru Radio signals? Do these signals have some range limits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Can't they post images or the edge of the solar system, we've seen images from Voyager before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambroos Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Can't they post images or the edge of the solar system, we've seen images from Voyager before. Well, not like there's anything to see there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze_Zewi Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 I'am impress that the spacecraft still works after 33 years. I wounder how fast these thing are going? Mach 50 or so? Lets hope other being are good being when they run into these things. I am not ready for Independent Day II. :alien: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevember Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 They send us information thru Radio signals? Do these signals have some range limits? Not in vacuum as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Well, not like there's anything to see there... A real image of our solar system and not a drawing or computer made image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzta cody Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 The Voyager launchings were a big deal at the time. In '77 I was 6, and it was a big year for me. Star Wars had started a few months before, and then there was this. Space and (and its associated concepts) were really wowing my young brain. To think that device is at this moment hurtling through space at an almost (really, I can't truthfully picture it) incomprehensible speed is almost mind-boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted December 17, 2010 Reporter Share Posted December 17, 2010 Not in vacuum as far as I know. Electromagnetic waves do not require air to travel, hence how the sun's light and heat gets to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*RedBull* Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I'am impress that the spacecraft still works after 33 years. I wounder how fast these thing are going? Mach 50 or so? Lets hope other being are good being when they run into these things. I am not ready for Independent Day II. :alien: ?? There hasn't been an independant day I yet. ?? :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Voyager I took this photo 10 years ago looking back towards Earth: Amazingly the white dot between the lines happens to be Earth. I'm sure some of you have seen this before. That would be neat if they did the same thing now and captured the Sun in the picture. http://www.bigskyastroclub.org/pale_blue_dot.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hell-In-A-Handbasket Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 It's got to be odd being someone at NASA. They launched these things 20 odd years ago and they're still providing information! Let alone being as distant as they are, with no chance of a repair And my Xbox died within a year under my TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 And my Xbox died within a year under my TV That's called 'planned obsolescence'. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjordan2001 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 I'am impress that the spacecraft still works after 33 years. I wounder how fast these thing are going? Mach 50 or so? Lets hope other being are good being when they run into these things. I am not ready for Independent Day II. :alien: Pretty much, they're going 10.5 miles/sec which almost comes out to be Mach 50. It's pretty impressive since they weigh as much as a full-size car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLien_0 Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 this really is amazing, for something of that age to continue to operate this well. 1977 wasn't exactly the dawn of space travel but it was still fairly new and looking at the computer systems of that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Pretty much, they're going 10.5 miles/sec which almost comes out to be Mach 50. It's pretty impressive since they weigh as much as a full-size car. But unlike your full-size car that is subject to gravity and air resistance, these spacecraft are not and can move at that speed quite easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 Pretty much, they're going 10.5 miles/sec which almost comes out to be Mach 50. It's pretty impressive since they weigh as much as a full-size car. Amazing Voyager hasn't smacked into something. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 That is just fascinating stuff. It probably takes months to get any data back to earth :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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