Voyager Probe Reaches Interstellar Space
SCIENCE, 16 Sep 2013
Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service
| NASA spacecraft becomes first human-made object to travel beyond the solar system, US scientists say.
|
||
| The US space probe Voyager 1 has crossed a new frontier, becoming humanity’s first spacecraft ever to leave the solar system, NASA has said.Thirty-six years after it was launched from Earth on a tour of the outer planets, the plutonium-powered spacecraft is more than 11 billion miles from the Sun in interstellar space – the vast, cold emptiness between the stars, the US space agency said on Thursday [12 Sep 2013].
Voyager 1 actually made its exit more than a year ago, according to NASA, but the evidence has only just come to light. “It’s a milestone and the beginning of a new journey,” said mission chief scientist Ed Stone at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Voyager 1 will now study exotic particles and other phenomena in a never-before-explored part of the universe and radio the data back to Earth, where the Voyager team awaits the starship’s discoveries. The interstellar ambassador also carries a gold-plated disc containing multicultural greetings, songs and photos, just in case it reaches an intelligent species.
Voyager 1’s odyssey began in 1977 when the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched on a tour of the gas giant planets of the solar system. After beaming back photographs of Jupiter’s giant red spot and Saturn’s shimmering rings, Voyager 2 moved on to Uranus and Neptune. Last year, scientists monitoring Voyager 1 noticed charged particles streaming from the sun suddenly vanished from its readings. At the same time, there was a spike in galactic cosmic rays – suggesting it was beyond the heliosphere. A chance solar eruption caused the space around Voyager 1 to echo like a bell last spring and provided the scientists with the information they needed, convincing them the boundary had been crossed in August of last year. “It took us 10 seconds to realise we were in interstellar space,” said Don Gurnett, a Voyager scientist at the University of Iowa who led the new research, published online in the journal Science. Voyager 2 trails behind its sister ship by about two billion miles. Both spacecraft will run out of nuclear fuel and will have to power down their instruments, perhaps by 2025. At current speed, it would take Voyager 1 more than 70,000 years to reach the nearest extra-terrestrial star, Proxima Centauri, were it travelling in that direction. |
Go to Original – aljazeera.com
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.