Voyager I, a NASA probe launched in 1977 together with its twin spacecraft Voyager II, has now reached the edges of the Solar System and will soon leave our neighborhood to venture into interstellar space:
More than three decades after launching, NASA’s workhorse spacecraft is inching closer to leaving the solar system behind.
Currently 11 billion miles away from the sun, Voyager 1 has been exploring the fringes of the solar system since 2004.
On Monday, the spacecraft entered a new region, known as the 'stagnation zone' - an area close to the very edge of our solar system, affording the first-ever 'alien's eye' view of our planet.
[…] The spacecraft has enough battery power to last until 2020, but scientists think it will reach interstellar space before that - in a matter of several months to years.
Chief scientist Ed Stone of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the timing is unclear because no spacecraft has ever ventured this far.
[…] Scientists expect to see several telltale signs when Voyager 1 finally crosses the boundary including a change in the magnetic field direction and the type of wind. Interstellar wind is slower, colder and denser than solar wind.
[…] Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977 to tour the outer planets including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. After their main mission ended, both headed toward interstellar space in opposite directions. Voyager 2 is traveling slower than Voyager 1 and is currently 9 billion away miles from the sun.
Click here for more graphical explanations of what it all looks like.
No comments:
Post a Comment