Voyager nearing interstellar space
Source: Agencies |
December 7, 2011, Wednesday
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MORE than three decades after launching, NASA's workhorse spacecraft is inching closer to leaving the solar system behind.
Currently 17.7 billion kilometers from the sun, Voyager 1 has been exploring the fringes of the solar system since 2004. Scientists said on Monday it has entered a new region in the solar system they have dubbed the "stagnation zone."
Voyager 1 still has a little way to go before it completely exits the solar system and becomes the first man-made probe to cross into interstellar space, or the vast space between stars.
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.
"The journey continues," Stone told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
For the past year, Voyager 1 has appeared to be in the cosmic doldrums where solar winds streaming out from the sun at 1.6 million kph have dramatically eased and high-energy particles from outside are seeping in - a sign that it is nearing interstellar space.
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.
Even with certain expectations, Stone said the milestone won't be cut-and-dried. "We will be confused when it first happens," Stone admitted.
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 currently 14.5 billion kilometers from the sun.
Currently 17.7 billion kilometers from the sun, Voyager 1 has been exploring the fringes of the solar system since 2004. Scientists said on Monday it has entered a new region in the solar system they have dubbed the "stagnation zone."
Voyager 1 still has a little way to go before it completely exits the solar system and becomes the first man-made probe to cross into interstellar space, or the vast space between stars.
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.
"The journey continues," Stone told a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
For the past year, Voyager 1 has appeared to be in the cosmic doldrums where solar winds streaming out from the sun at 1.6 million kph have dramatically eased and high-energy particles from outside are seeping in - a sign that it is nearing interstellar space.
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.
Even with certain expectations, Stone said the milestone won't be cut-and-dried. "We will be confused when it first happens," Stone admitted.
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 currently 14.5 billion kilometers from the sun.
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