Thread Closed

Spacecraft reaches edge of solar system: CNN

 
Share Thread Thread Tools
Nov6-03, 08:07 PM   #1
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Science Advisor Science Advisor
Retired Staff Staff Emeritus

Spacecraft reaches edge of solar system: CNN


(CNN) -- The Voyager 1 spacecraft has arrived at the boundary of the solar system and is flying into a region of space that has never been explored before, NASA announced Wednesday.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/1...ary/index.html
PhysOrg.com
PhysOrg
astronomy news on PhysOrg.com

>> Researchers explain magnetic field misbehavior in solar flares
>> Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos
>> Researchers reveal model of Sun's magnetic field
Nov6-03, 08:54 PM   #2
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Science Advisor Science Advisor
Retired Staff Staff Emeritus
I thought it had been going through space which hadn't been explored before for the last 10 years or so...
Nov7-03, 03:43 PM   #3
 
Don't you think it's a little cold out there?
And one million miles a day? That's REALLY fast.
Is this thing sending back any images?
Nov10-03, 04:01 PM   #4
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Science Advisor Science Advisor
Retired Staff Staff Emeritus

Spacecraft reaches edge of solar system: CNN


Originally posted by StephenPrivitera
Is this thing sending back any images?
Images, no. Data, yes.
(I could provide a link but it isn't working at the moment...I'll try to post it later.)
Nov10-03, 04:07 PM   #5
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Science Advisor Science Advisor
Retired Staff Staff Emeritus
Voyager 1's journey marks a major scientific milestone: For the first time, a man-made object has traveled 8.4 billion miles (13.5 billion kilometers), about 90 times the distance between the Earth and sun.
90 AU is well past the orbit of the outermost planet (Pluto @ 39.5 AU)
but it is still potentially inside the Kuiper Belt (30 to 100 AU from the sun) and certainly well inside the suspected distance of the Oort Cloud (10's of thousands of AU). So, if you define the solar system to include the Oort Cloud, Voyager is still within the solar system. If you're only concerned about the 9 planets, then Voyager is long gone.

Either way, the Voyager program was a screaming success.
Nov10-03, 04:25 PM   #6
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Retired Staff Staff Emeritus
I saw somewhere that Voyager had crossed the heliopause. Could you discuss this claim?
Nov10-03, 05:29 PM   #7
 
Recognitions:
Gold Membership Gold Member
Science Advisor Science Advisor
Originally posted by selfAdjoint
I saw somewhere that Voyager had crossed the heliopause. Could you discuss this claim?
I had not heard that. I know V1 was picking up radio signals thought to be coming from the heliopause, but the exact location of the termination shock was still a mystery, last I heard. I also think that these radio waves, or more likely some related electromagnetic phenomenon may be responsible for the mysterious deceleration of the Voyager and Pioneer probes.
Thread Closed
Thread Tools


Similar Threads for: Spacecraft reaches edge of solar system: CNN
Thread Forum Replies
What happens to light when it reaches the edge of the universe? General Astronomy 62
How would the solar system capture an extra solar planet ?? General Astronomy 14
Voyager 2 Detects Odd Shape of Solar System's Edge General Astronomy 3
The Solar System General Astronomy 2
Solar Sail Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering 12