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10-12-2018, 04:38 PM
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Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46502820

The Voyager 2 probe, which left Earth in 1977, has become the second human-made object to leave our Solar System.

It was launched 16 days before its twin craft, Voyager 1, but that probe's faster trajectory meant that it was in "the space between the stars" six years before Voyager 2.

The news was revealed at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Washington. Voyager 2's date of departure from the Solar System was 5 November 2018.

On that date, the steady stream of particles emitted from the Sun that were being detected by the probe suddenly dipped. This indicated that it had crossed the "heliopause" - the term for the outer edge of the Sun's protective bubble of particles and magnetic field.

The probe's present location is some 18 billion km (11 billion miles) from Earth. It is moving at roughly 54,000km/h (34,000mph).
Bye, bye .....
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10-12-2018, 04:45 PM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Are we still receiving data/pictures from it other than the tracking info Omah?
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10-12-2018, 04:48 PM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Thank goodness it is on a long piece of elastic so they can retrieve it.
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10-12-2018, 05:27 PM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Originally Posted by OldGreyFox ->
Are we still receiving data/pictures from it other than the tracking info Omah?
Data is still coming in but the cameras have been turned off to conserve power and memory:

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/frequen...ked-questions/
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10-12-2018, 05:52 PM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Brilliant. thanks for the links Omah that was very interesting. It says that the cameras can in fact be turned back on but because it is in complete darkness, it would be pointless. I bet if it suddenly stopped moving, those cameras would be turned on pretty quick.

I wonder if someone or something will spot it in the night sky years from now. Imagine if it came back.
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11-12-2018, 12:22 AM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

What the trajectory looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcwR...ature=youtu.be

(While watching this I kept thinking about a local road construction company that has taken 25 years to build a 5 mile stretch of highway. I hope they see this .)
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11-12-2018, 05:52 AM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Originally Posted by OldGreyFox ->
Are we still receiving data/pictures from it other than the tracking info Omah?
I have mentioned it before but there are three deep space tracking stations round the globe. They have a web site:

https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

As you can see it tells you which space craft (or Mars Rover) they are tracking. You see the Voyager probes pop up quite regularly.

You can find out a lot of details about the antenna and the object they are tracking
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11-12-2018, 06:41 AM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

I was just reading an article which indicates that Voyager 2 has not left the Solar System yet but is in interstellar space. It will not leave the Solar System until it reaches the Ort Cloud.

"Nobody really expected the spacecraft to last this long, to be able to continue out on their journey, to travel through the heliosheath boundary, out across the heliopause into interstellar space," Mr Nagle said.

But it still has a long way to travel until it reaches the edge of the solar system, which is defined by a halo of objects such as comets known as the Oort Cloud.
Which ever is right it has gone a bloody long way and taken over half my lifetime to do it.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/...-space/9797350
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11-12-2018, 11:15 AM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

Originally Posted by Bruce ->
I was just reading an article which indicates that Voyager 2 has not left the Solar System yet but is in interstellar space. It will not leave the Solar System until it reaches the Ort Cloud.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/...-space/9797350
In the original article:

The chief scientist on the mission, Prof Edward Stone, said both probes had now "made it into interstellar space" and that Voyager 2's date of departure from the Solar System was 5 November 2018.

Scientists define the Solar System in different ways, so Prof Stone has always been very careful not to use the exact phrase "leave the Solar System" in relation to his spacecraft. He is mindful that the Nasa probes still have to pass through the Oort cloud where there are comets gravitationally bound to the Sun, albeit very loosely.
So, you are correct to point out the inaccuracy of the BBC headline .....
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11-12-2018, 01:30 PM
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Re: Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System'

So let's bring this voyager thing down to earth......

So it's flying through space at thousands of miles per hour....
It's dark.....we couldn't possibly imagine how dark....the sun is now billions of miles away.....There is no heat being radiated from the sun.....we can't even see the sun because it's too dark.....How cold will it be? What is the normal temperature of outer space....How are the solar batteries holding up without the sun's energy?.....How do the electronics work in (not just sub zero) but thousands of degrees below freezing? Not to mention any mechanical equipment...

When God bunged us on this small revolving piece of space debris caught in the gravitational pull of the sun, he's not made it easy for us to get off....In fact, I'd say it was damned near impossible....Even for a minute piece of electrical kit about as strong as an empty crisp packet....Hell! not even my new computer will last that long without breaking down....

I think someone's feeding us a right load of Bo!!*cks.....Question is:- WHY
 
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