Voyager spacecraft

[casstony]

The Voyager spacecraft got a good few minutes of newstime on ABC today - travelling for 33 years, their discoveries, the golden record carrying info about us, 40,000 years to the next star, nice graphics - good to see media coverage that might inspire interest from the public.

It's interesting to consider that advances in our capacity for space travel might see these relics recovered before they have a chance to be found by other lifeforms.

[Suzy]

Thanks Tony. You prompted me to go and do some further reading on the Voyagers at the NASA site here. I came across a very interesting page of "Did You Know" s.
There's plenty more very interesting reading on the supplied link other than the tid bits I've given below.

A total of 11,000 workyears was devoted to the Voyager project through the Neptune encounter. This is equivalent to one-third the amount of effort estimated to complete the great pyramid at Giza to King Cheops.

A total of five trillion bits of scientific data had been returned to Earth by both Voyager spacecraft at the completion of the Neptune encounter. This represents enough bits to fill more than seven thousand music CDs.

The electronics and heaters aboard each nearly one-ton Voyager spacecraft can operate on only 400 watts of power, or roughly one-fourth that used by an average residential home in the western United States.

The tape recorder aboard each Voyager has been designed to record and playback a great deal of scientific data. The tape head should not begin to wear out until the tape has been moved back and forth through a distance comparable to that across the United States. Imagine playing a two-hour video cassette on your home VCR once a day for the next 33 years, without a failure.

Through the ages, astronomers have argued without agreeing on where the solar system ends. One opinion is that the boundary is where the Sun’s gravity no longer dominates – a point beyond the planets and beyond the Oort Cloud. This boundary is roughly about halfway to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri. Traveling at speeds of over 35,000 miles per hour, it will take the Voyagers nearly 40,000 years, and they will have traveled a distance of about two light years to reach this rather indistinct boundary.

And if you have a look at this page on the NASA site, it even shows the running clock of km's as they travel. Wow, it's so amazing to see it tick over so fast, it made me feel really connected to the Voyagers!

And who could forget that very famous picture, "The Pale Blue Dot". When Voyager 1 was leaving our solar system,
Carl Sagen asked NASA to point Voyager at our Earth. What a stunning, memorable picture that was- there sat Earth so incredibly tiny, sitting on the large bright rays of our sun.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

And if you have a look at this page on the NASA site, it even shows the running clock of km's as they travel. Wow, it's so amazing to see it tick over so fast, it made me feel really connected to the Voyagers!

Yep, that is a definite WOW!!!! Thanks Suzy

Except I notice an anomoly.
Voyager 1 click over approx 100k every 5 seconds

whereas Voyager 2 only clicks over approx 10k every 5 seconds.

Either way, they are really hiking along at great speed!!!

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Yep, that is a definite WOW!!!! Thanks Suzy

Except I notice an anomoly.
Voyager 1 click over approx 100k every 5 seconds

whereas Voyager 2 only clicks over approx 10k every 5 seconds.

Either way, they are really hiking along at great speed!!!

Hmmmmm.....
Dodging rocky bodies?
Lots of traffic up there intercepting alien space ships?
Dark matter is really really thick and hard to travel through?
It needs a service?


A good observation made there Ken, you must have given that ticker a really good going over to pick that up as the clocks move so fast. Boy, nothing gets passed you hey?!

I couldn't resist .. curiousity got the better of me (curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, and all that ). So I have just emailed NASA asking them why. I'll let you know what they say when they respond. I hope they respond. Otherwise, I guess I'll become their Voyager stalker.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

check this out: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/multimed...gerModule.html



Also, I think I have worked out the speed difference Suzy. Voyager 1 is flying away at a different angle to Voyager 2.

Earth must be currently moving away from Voyager 1's direction on it's way around the Sun.
But not moving away from Voyager 2's direction as fast.

[Suzy]

That was great fun.

But I had even better fun when I clicked on "Contact Earth" at the top menu bar.
It's a game trying to get voyager to Jupiter. So much fun, except I kept going off course. I'll get better at it... I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

check this out: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/multimed...gerModule.html



Also, I think I have worked out the speed difference Suzy. Voyager 1 is flying away at a different angle to Voyager 2.

Earth must be currently moving away from Voyager 1's direction on it's way around the Sun.
But not moving away from Voyager 2's direction as fast.

Makes sense .
I have to go and give that game a couple more goes now. I feel an addiction coming on..

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Your link doesn't work Suzy, but yes, it is fun. I went off course at every attempt

They will find it when they use the link I gave

[Suzy]

I've tried for half an hour to get it to land and have failed miserably. And I'm only using "training mode". First one that gets the trajectory right wins - who's game?! Go girl power I say to myself! (errr, after I've slept).

I have re-done the link for the game, but it's the same as Ken's anyway.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

I haven't gotten past 'Training' mode either

Great pilots we make

[ngcles]

Hi Suzy, Ken & All,

I parked that puppy on my fourth go. Come on, get your act together!


Best,

Les D

[Suzy]

Show off...

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

Hi Suzy, Ken & All,

I parked that puppy on my fourth go. Come on, get your act together!


Best,

Les D

I gave up after about 30 times

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

I got it on the third time, BTW you do not land, It is gravity assist around the planet plus the contact to download data afterwards done after the second time.

[Suzy]

Well done Malcolm!
You're a show off too though.

Well, I still haven't gotten an email back from NASA (regarding miles traveled on clock by Voyager), sigh.. don't they know I'm a serious budding little astronomer .