More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system

I could swear that this event already occurred, but I guess I was mistaken.

“Even without the magnetometer data, the Voyager 1 data shows that it has gone through a huge barrier at the edge of the solar system. These guys are defining it based on their theory which requires a transition zone where the magnetic fields decouple. Maybe this is true. But the fact remains that the satellite has gone through a discontinuity in cosmic ray fluxes that is incredible. It is interacting with the boundary of the Solar System. I think that the data stand on their merit – something wonderful ( a line from the movie 2010) has happened”

SOURCE

I am blessed to have lived the last 47 years during the most intense technological times on earth. I remember the day that "Veeger" launched when I was a kid.

Now this craft is on the outer reach of the Solar System -- or is it? Do we really know the outer boundaries of the SOL system?

Yes this is an interesting time, I wonder for how much longer they will receive good data from Voyager 1. I seem to recall that when it got to the boundry that it encountered a buble that our solar system seemed to be encompassed by and protected. Very interesting indeed.

reply to post by phantomjack


Wouldn't it be nice, to have today's technology (2012), sending pictures back, as Voyager leaves?

I agree though, it is a blessing seeing what man can accomplish, when he isn't burdened down with Wars, hate, and alike. I am still surprised, that it has made it this far.

S&F

Very Interesting..... I Would Like To Know More About This Subject Please... Any Websites I Can Visit To Get More Info?

reply to post by michael1983l


I will admit though...that is one HECK of a battery they used on that craft!

Recharged or not by solar, it is standing the test of time...

reply to post by phantomjack


Would they have not used fuel cells instead of batteries for a project like this? Did they have Hydrogen Fuel Cells in the 70s?

It will all turn to tears when it comes back in 200 years looking for its creator (and kills a few Klingons for good measure)

I think (without Googling), the boundary is where our stars wind no longer holds back the rest of the wind coming in from the rest of the galaxy...of course I could be wrong.

Just think though, if we develop a suitable means of propulsion, we might be able to go and recover it in a few decades.

Exciting times ahead.

reply to post by woogleuk


If I was given the opportunity I would happily board a space craft to explore the outer solar system/other solar systems even with the knowledge of never returning.

Originally posted by michael1983l
reply to post by woogleuk

 

If I was given the opportunity I would happily board a space craft to explore the outer solar system/other solar systems even with the knowledge of never returning.

I don't think I could do that, without a mate..........

reply to post by phantomjack


Actually it uses a primitive nuclear reactor.

Electrical power is supplied by three Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs). The current power levels are about 315 watts for each spacecraft

Voyager Spacecraft specs

Originally posted by sonnny1
reply to post by phantomjack

 

Wouldn't it be nice, to have today's technology (2012), sending pictures back, as Voyager leaves?

I agree though, it is a blessing seeing what man can accomplish, when he isn't burdened down with Wars, hate, and alike. I am still surprised, that it has made it this far.

S&F

Until some super advanced cilvilation sends voyager back like they did in Star Trek the motion picture

reply to post by sonnny1


Hard to say that we can't accomplish things during wars. Both the Voyager and Viking programs were originally developed as part of the Mariner program, but expanded on it and became their own entities as the technology progressed. The Mariner program was during the height of the Korean War. The Voyager and Viking programs had most of their groundwork done during the height of US involvement in the Vietnam War.

So it isn't that just war slows us down, it's also that we have lost a lot of the drive to explore the cosmos that we had as a nation fifty years ago.

reply to post by Jessarelli


Here is a link to the Voyager Mission Homepage. That's a great starting off point!

reply to post by phantomjack


Both Voyager spacecraft are powered by Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, more commonly called RTGs. Each craft uses three plutonium-238 RTGs to provide power. The decay of the isotope releases heat, which is then turned into electricity through the use of thermocouples. They last for quite a long time, which is why both craft are still able to send data back today. They do lose power over time, both as the Pu-238 supply decreases and as the thermocouples wear down. I believe each Voyager craft has less than 60% of its original power output available now.

reply to post by michael1983l


You could be in luck. A start up called Mars One is looking to send some folks on a one-way trip to Mars in 2023. They intend to send another crew every two years to keep the colony growing.

You can read more about that here: Mars One - Get Your One Way Ticket To The Red Planet.

reply to post by michael1983l


Yeah, but even then, the lifespan of a hydrogen cell is limited.

Originally posted by woogleuk
It will all turn to tears when it comes back in 200 years looking for its creator (and kills a few Klingons for good measure)

I think (without Googling), the boundary is where our stars wind no longer holds back the rest of the wind coming in from the rest of the galaxy...of course I could be wrong.

Just think though, if we develop a suitable means of propulsion, we might be able to go and recover it in a few decades.

Exciting times ahead.

That would need to be one heck of a propulsion system! To catch up to a 15 billion KM head start would require some really fast method of transportation!

That's awesome. Just makes my mind wonder what it has seen and what it will see.

Originally posted by TheGreatDivider
That's awesome. Just makes my mind wonder what it has seen and what it will see.

Better, lets imagine it had a mind and soul.

"Damn...sure is cold out here..."

or

"15 billion KM and not a single pee break..."

reply to post by phantomjack


Thanks for posting this.

This is awesome stuff. I have been watching updates on this for the past few months, but somehow I missed this one.
I'm excited about what kind of data it sends back from interstellar space.

You know I had a thought, and this is just speculation and imagination; but what will happen when Voyager 'pops' our solar bubble? Most likely nothing, but I was wondering what if as it leaves it pops our bubble and lets our 'space' out into interstellar space or if 'interstellar space' will fill in our system. Perhaps the bubble surrounding our solar system is deceiving our field of view, like a lens making things look further away than they are or not.

Just imaginative speculation. Exciting nonetheless. Thoughts?

Originally posted by phantomjack

Voyager 1 data shows that it has gone through a huge barrier at the edge of the solar system.

Now this craft is on the outer reach of the Solar System -- or is it? Do we really know the outer boundaries of the SOL system?

well there WAS this report of Voyager sending back info about a "magnetic froth" or "bubble bath" at the edge of our solar system..
reminds me of a type of 'engineered' necessary 'quarantine' any star system would need if it was harboring a developing intelligent species...with technological prowess of destruction.

"keep them isolated until they are as harmonious and as wise as us" ...said the engineers...

Ahhh Voyager. That was a long time ago (as i scratch my grey beard).
I lovingly stole these tidbits from here:voyager.jpl.nasa.gov...

"A total of 11,000 work years were devoted to the Voyager project through the Neptune encounter."

"Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. On September 5, Voyager 1 launched, also from Cape Canaveral aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket.

and my favorite....

Both Voyager spacecrafts carry a greeting to any form of life, should that be encountered. The message is carried by a phonograph record - -a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages.