News NASA’s Voyager 2 Enters Interstellar Space

T-post Tom · 12-10-2018, 11:42 AM

Pretty amazing. "... spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages. Since the spacecraft could last billions of years, these circular time capsules could one day be the only traces of human civilization." (Suck it Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.)

Today (December 10, 2018) NASA announced that for the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars.

NASA’s Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere – the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the sun.

Comparing data from different instruments aboard the spacecraft, mission scientists determined the probe crossed the outer edge of the heliosphere on November 5, 2018.

This boundary, called the heliopause, is where the hot solar wind meets the cold, dense interstellar medium. Voyager 2’s twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, crossed this boundary in 2012, but Voyager 2 carries a working instrument that will provide first-of-its-kind observations of the nature of this gateway into interstellar space.

Voyager 2 now is slightly more than 11 billion miles (18 billion km) from Earth. Mission operators still can communicate with Voyager 2 as it enters this new phase of its journey, but information – moving at the speed of light – takes about 16.5 hours to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. By comparison, light traveling from the sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.Together, the two Voyagers provide a detailed glimpse of how our heliosphere interacts with the constant interstellar wind flowing from beyond.

While the probes have left the heliosphere, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have not yet left the solar system, and won’t be leaving anytime soon. The boundary of the solar system is considered to be beyond the outer edge of the Oort Cloud, a collection of small objects that are still under the influence of the sun’s gravity. The width of the Oort Cloud is not known precisely, but it is estimated to begin at about 1,000 astronomical units (AU) from the sun and to extend to about 100,000 AU (1 AU is the distance from the sun to Earth). It will take about 300 years for Voyager 2 to reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud and possibly 30,000 years to fly beyond it.

Voyager 2 launched in 1977, 16 days before Voyager 1, and both have traveled well beyond their original destinations. The spacecraft were built to last five years and conduct close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn. However, as the mission continued, additional flybys of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved possible. As the spacecraft flew across the solar system, remote-control reprogramming was used to give Voyagers greater capabilities than they possessed when they left Earth. Their two-planet mission became a four-planet mission. Their five-year lifespans have stretched to 41 years, making Voyager 2 NASA’s longest running mission.

Each spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages. Since the spacecraft could last billions of years, these circular time capsules could one day be the only traces of human civilization.

https://earthsky.org/space/voyager-2-probe-enters-interstellar-space

**bevischief** · 12-10-2018, 11:44 AM

Or send the all hell no crap like Maholmes after us.

Jewish Rabbi · 12-10-2018, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevischief

Or send the all hell no crap like Maholmes after us.

Wut

threebag · 12-10-2018, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevischief

Or send the all hell no crap like Maholmes after us.

Then the midgets

Marco Polo · 12-10-2018, 11:53 AM

This is such an amazing accomplishment for mankind and most won't even appreciate this moment.

O.city · 12-10-2018, 12:06 PM

That's pretty damn cool. So hard to comprehend how damn big "space" is.

Valiant · 12-10-2018, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

That's pretty damn cool. So hard to comprehend how damn big "space" is.

I don't think we can. Just the distance between the sun and Pluto is insane. Then the fact we barely measure inside the milky way. Then there are tens of billions of other systems out there. Then all the space in-between that is growing.

threebag · 12-10-2018, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valiant

I don't think we can. Just the distance between the sun and Pluto is insane. Then the fact we barely measure inside the milky way. Then there are tens of billions of other systems out there. Then all the space in-between that is growing.

IF it’s done well there are some hangers available for filming in Arizona. All the sheep will buy it.

**Donger** · 12-10-2018, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valiant

I don't think we can. Just the distance between the sun and Pluto is insane. Then the fact we barely measure inside the milky way. Then there are tens of billions of other systems out there. Then all the space in-between that is growing.

http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/...larsystem.html

DMAC · 12-10-2018, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/...larsystem.html

You owe me a new scrolling wheel.

O.city · 12-10-2018, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valiant

I don't think we can. Just the distance between the sun and Pluto is insane. Then the fact we barely measure inside the milky way. Then there are tens of billions of other systems out there. Then all the space in-between that is growing.

So crazy to me to look at some of the Hubble deep space images. There are billions of other galaxies out there, each with trillions of stars. Theyre just so ****ing far away it's hard to imagine.

It won't be in any of our granchildrens lifetimes I doubt, but at some point you'd think we'll figure out how to get out there.

ShiftyEyedWaterboy · 12-10-2018, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

So crazy to me to look at some of the Hubble deep space images. There are billions of other galaxies out there, each with trillions of stars. Theyre just so ****ing far away it's hard to imagine.

It won't be in any of our granchildrens lifetimes I doubt, but at some point you'd think we'll figure out how to get out there.

According to Einstein FTL travel is impossible but it's possible there's some kind of workaround. Just need to survive long enough to figure it out.

**ptlyon** · 12-10-2018, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy

According to Einstein FTL travel is impossible but it's possible there's some kind of workaround. Just need to survive long enough to figure it out.

Einstein never saw the no look pass either

T-post Tom · 12-11-2018, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

So crazy to me to look at some of the Hubble deep space images. There are billions of other galaxies out there, each with trillions of stars. Theyre just so ****ing far away it's hard to imagine.

It won't be in any of our granchildrens lifetimes I doubt, but at some point you'd think we'll figure out how to get out there.

Mennonite · 12-10-2018, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valiant

I don't think we can. Just the distance between the sun and Pluto is insane. Then the fact we barely measure inside the milky way. Then there are tens of billions of other systems out there. Then all the space in-between that is growing.

Yeah, it's truly impossible to comprehend.

For some perspective, here is an animated gif comparing Earth to the largest known stars:

12-10-2018, 11:42 AM	Topic Starter
T-post Tom Threepeat! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Milk/Honey/Gazland Casino cash: $4567293	NASA’s Voyager 2 Enters Interstellar Space Pretty amazing. "... spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages. Since the spacecraft could last billions of years, these circular time capsules could one day be the only traces of human civilization." (Suck it Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.) Today (December 10, 2018) NASA announced that for the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. NASA’s Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere – the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the sun. Comparing data from different instruments aboard the spacecraft, mission scientists determined the probe crossed the outer edge of the heliosphere on November 5, 2018. This boundary, called the heliopause, is where the hot solar wind meets the cold, dense interstellar medium. Voyager 2’s twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, crossed this boundary in 2012, but Voyager 2 carries a working instrument that will provide first-of-its-kind observations of the nature of this gateway into interstellar space. Voyager 2 now is slightly more than 11 billion miles (18 billion km) from Earth. Mission operators still can communicate with Voyager 2 as it enters this new phase of its journey, but information – moving at the speed of light – takes about 16.5 hours to travel from the spacecraft to Earth. By comparison, light traveling from the sun takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.Together, the two Voyagers provide a detailed glimpse of how our heliosphere interacts with the constant interstellar wind flowing from beyond. While the probes have left the heliosphere, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have not yet left the solar system, and won’t be leaving anytime soon. The boundary of the solar system is considered to be beyond the outer edge of the Oort Cloud, a collection of small objects that are still under the influence of the sun’s gravity. The width of the Oort Cloud is not known precisely, but it is estimated to begin at about 1,000 astronomical units (AU) from the sun and to extend to about 100,000 AU (1 AU is the distance from the sun to Earth). It will take about 300 years for Voyager 2 to reach the inner edge of the Oort Cloud and possibly 30,000 years to fly beyond it. Voyager 2 launched in 1977, 16 days before Voyager 1, and both have traveled well beyond their original destinations. The spacecraft were built to last five years and conduct close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn. However, as the mission continued, additional flybys of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved possible. As the spacecraft flew across the solar system, remote-control reprogramming was used to give Voyagers greater capabilities than they possessed when they left Earth. Their two-planet mission became a four-planet mission. Their five-year lifespans have stretched to 41 years, making Voyager 2 NASA’s longest running mission. Each spacecraft carries a Golden Record of Earth sounds, pictures and messages. Since the spacecraft could last billions of years, these circular time capsules could one day be the only traces of human civilization. https://earthsky.org/space/voyager-2-probe-enters-interstellar-space
Posts: 20,217

12-10-2018, 11:44 AM	#2
bevischief .... Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somewhere Kansas Casino cash: $8659352 VARSITY	Or send the all hell no crap like Maholmes after us.
Posts: 27,731

12-10-2018, 11:53 AM	#5
Marco Polo Veteran Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: 41°59.4′N 87°39.6'W Casino cash: $5788908	This is such an amazing accomplishment for mankind and most won't even appreciate this moment.
Posts: 2,506	1 0

12-10-2018, 12:06 PM	#6
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $2714064	That's pretty damn cool. So hard to comprehend how damn big "space" is.
Posts: 81,280