Discussion
The Voyager 1 interstellar probe, part of NASA's Voyager program launched in 1977, will reach one light-day distance from Earth next week.
This article puts the distance into perspective.
"That span stretches about 16.1 billion miles in space. Set out on foot at a brisk 3 mph, and you'd need roughly 612,000 years to walk it."
@stefan and still just barely on the edge of our solar system.
@duncan_blues Not quite!
"Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space on August 25, 2012"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1
I'm guessing you meant our galaxy?
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@stefan still just barely past the threshold. It left the house in 1977 and took until 2012 to roll down the driveway so to speak. In cosmic relations, it didn't even cross the sidewalk yet to enter the road.
@duncan_blues @stefan No, Duncan is correct. While it’s true that Voyager crossed the heliopause and thus is in the interstellar medium, one light day is still a ridiculously tiny fraction of galactic distances. Even the very nearest stars are still over a thousand times farther away, and there is still plenty of what astronomers would classify as “solar system” that’s beyond one light day.
Also reading about a proposed NASA space probe expected to launch between 2036 and 2041 and leave the heliosphere after 16 years, compared to Voyager 1's 35 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_Probe_(spacecraft)
#space #science
Interstellar Probe (spacecraft)