Voyager 2 has been traveling through space since its launch in 1977, and is now
more than 11.6 billion miles ( 18.8 billion km) from Earth
.
How far is Voyager 2 now?
The spacecraft is now in its extended mission of studying interstellar space; as of September 16, 2021, Voyager 2 has been operating for 44 years, 1 month and 6 days, reaching a distance of
127.75 AU (19.111 billion km; 11.875 billion mi)
from Earth.
Where is Voyager 2 currently located?
NASA is upgrading the big radio dish in Australia used to beam commands to Voyager 2. NASA’s Voyager 2 probe will have to fend for itself in interstellar space for the next 11 months or so.
Is Voyager 1 still transmitting?
But farther—much farther—Voyager 1, one of the oldest space probes and the most distant human-made object from Earth,
is still doing science
. … But even as it drifts farther and farther from a dimming sun, it’s still sending information back to Earth, as scientists recently reported in The Astrophysical Journal.
How far away is Voyager 2 in light years?
In about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass
1.7 light-years
(9.7 trillion miles) from the star Ross 248 and in about 296,000 years, it will pass 4.3 light-years (25 trillion miles) from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Is Voyager 2 still sending pictures?
Mission managers removed the software from both spacecraft that controls the camera. The computers on the ground that understand the software and analyze
the images do not exist anymore
. The cameras and their heaters have also been exposed for years to the very cold conditions at the deep reaches of our solar system.
Where is the golden record now?
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977, passed the orbit of Pluto in 1990, and left the Solar System (in the sense of passing the termination shock) in November 2004. It is now in
the Kuiper belt
.
Where is Voyager 1 now 2020?
Voyager 1 is currently in
the constellation of Ophiucus
.
Is Voyager 1 or 2 farther?
Voyager 1 is about 13 billion miles from Earth in interstellar space, and
Voyager 2 is not far behind
. Find out more on the Voyager website.
What is the purpose of Voyager 2?
Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of
a rare planetary alignment to study the outer solar system up close
. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Like its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2 also was designed to find and study the edge of our solar system.
How far can Voyager 1 go before we lose contact?
Voyager 1’s extended mission is expected to continue until around 2025 when its radioisotope thermoelectric generators will no longer supply enough electric power to operate its scientific instruments. At that time, it will be more
than 15.5 billion miles
(25 billion km) away from the Earth.
How many light hours away is Pluto?
Object Time for the Light to Reach Us | Jupiter 35 to 52 minutes | Pluto 5 1/2 hours (on average) | Alpha Centauri (nearest star system) 4.3 years | Sirius (brightest star in our sky) 9 years |
---|
What has Voyager 1 found?
Voyager 1 is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. Voyager 1 discovered
a thin ring around Jupiter and two new Jovian moons
: Thebe and Metis. At Saturn, Voyager 1 found five new moons and a new ring called the G-ring.
What is on board the Voyagers 1 and 2?
Between them, Voyager 1 and 2 explored
all the giant planets of our outer solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; 48 of their moons
; and the unique system of rings and magnetic fields those planets possess. Closest approach to Jupiter occurred on March 5, 1979 for Voyager 1; July 9, 1979 for Voyager 2.
What is the difference between Voyager 1 and 2?
Voyager 1 flew within 64,200 kilometers (40,000 miles) of the cloud tops, while
Voyager 2 came within 41,000 kilometers (26,000 miles)
. Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. It takes 29.5 Earth years to complete one orbit of the Sun, and its day was clocked at 10 hours, 39 minutes.
What powers does Voyager have?
Voyager’s power supply comes from
a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
, which turns heat from the decay of a radioactive material into electricity to power the spacecraft.