Scientists at JPL first suspected that Voyager 1 was in interstellar space in August 2012, but were unable to confirm because the plasma sensor had broken about 30 years ago. However, a coronal mass ejection from the sun allowed them to measure plasma density based on sound. Though Voyager is in interstellar space, it is still being influenced by our sun. Scientists do not know how much longer that will be true. Additionally, they aren’t sure when Voyager 2 will reach interstellar space as well. Voyager 1 is currently over 11 billion miles from the sun, and it takes about 17 hours for data to be transmitted back to Earth. Despite its distance and age of the spacecraft, NASA predicts to have about 13 more years of use left out of the vessel. More info: 1.usa.gov/14JyMmL More information on the Voyager mission: 1.usa.gov/1aFqOxz Watch as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton, Nick Sagan, and others praise Voyager 1 for a job well done: bit.ly/18TO3OU Photo via: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 21:05:18 +0000
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