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Voyager 1 Reaches Interstellar Space
letxa2000 writes "CNN is reporting that Voyager 1, now some 8.4 billion miles (90 AUs) from the sun, has left the solar system and entered interstellar space by reaching the heliopause. However, whether the probe has reached the heliopause or is just coming close is the subject of two papers to be published in Thursday's Nature Magazine. The probe supposedly has enough nuclear fuel to last until 2020. Will it be able to find anything interesting outside the solar system in the next 17 years?"
Short answer: No.
Long Answer: "Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space... " -DNA
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
if it does find anything, how long before it's out of earshot for us? Are we able to hear from it up until that last bit of fuel is spent?
My sig is blank, I typed this by hand.
There are over two million Americans who will go to sleep hungry tonight.
Why is it that we can brainwash the masses into thinking that it's okay for us to spend billions on space crap while ignoring the homeless people living in the streets and at the YMCA?
I'll never understand a society that says it's okay to blow billions on meaningless stuff in the name of science while ignoring all the social issues that plague us.
How many lean cuisines can you buy with the money we've spent on Voyager? How much beef jerky could you purchase with the billins we spend on the space shuttle?
Gah.
Wagner LLC Consulting Co. - Getting it right the first time
I'm not sure why I'm bothering to respond to this obvious troll, but here goes...
We already have enough resources to take care of all the needy people not only in this country but on this planet. The real problem is that society, as a whole, just doesn't care enough about the unfortunates enough to do anything. If we were to stop sending any money on space exploration, that money would not get immediately diverted to persons in need. It would most likely end up funding tax breaks so that people can buy a new SUV. Or maybe it would "disappear" in a S&L fraud or HUD "misappropriation".
I grow tired of hearing people complaining that we should divert money from science towards needed social programs. Those programs are underfunded because we just haven't made them a priority. Slashing someone else's budget isn't going to make that money magically appear in the budget of social programs. We would need a real fundamental change in attitudes of elected officials and the voting public.
GMD
watch this
Would "we the people" ever hear about it? Or would the find be a classified secret due to so-called national/international security risks and issues?
It wouldn't matter whether it was classified or not. A secret that big would not stay a secret for long. There are leaks all the time. Christ, we've already managed to let the Chinese obtain detailed information about every nuclear weapon in our arsenal. I'm sure if we ever got a clear sign of extraterrestial intelligence, word would slip out in a matter of days. Some things are just way, way too important to expect that every single individual with access to that information would keep their trap shut.
GMD
watch this
That was a different Voyager.
They can always use the Digital Needle:
http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/~springer/
Don't forget the Yankee Stadium analogy: The sun is on home plate, the first 4 planets are between home and the pitcher's mound, Jupiter is on second base, Saturn and Uranus are in the outfield, Pluto is in the parking lot, and Centauri is in San Franciso.
Indeed, science can be distilled down to a set of little sound-bite facts that are easily repeatable. "There is no sound in space" is one of them. However what most people for some reason do not understand is that this is a SOUND BITE.
It is far too common for Slashdot readers to immediately object to something because it clashes with their boiled down kiddy version of science.
Here's some news for you: the space surrounding the sun is far from empty, in fact it is filled with atoms, electrons, and ionized gas. Its density is low enough that a human would not perceive it without an instrument. But sound can quite easily travel through gas, no matter how thin. Clearly the sound cannot travel any faster than the individual particles themselves are moving. Hence it is very easy to define the speed of sound in a gas.
No, I'm not claiming to be a scientist or above anyone else in terms of scientific knowledge, but it really pisses me off when people's first reaction is to DOUBT THE SCIENTISTS. Sure, they can be wrong sometimes, but I think it would be respectful to go do a little research before claiming, as if you are some kind of expert, that they are wrong.
Homelessness and poverty will always exist under captialism. I am not saying that this is good or bad, I am saying that we do not live in the Star Trek utopian society in which there are jobs that pay enough for people to survive available for everyone.
You might be able to teach someone to fish, but the but at some point the economy may not have any need for more fishermen (or whatever other job skill). All the unempolyed coders reading this can attest to this.
Funny thing about large timeframes and technology -- if you wait long enough you will actually be further ahead.
:)
Exploring this solar system with experimental high-velocity nuclear engines is appropriate. But in 20 years we could probably send something to the nearest stars in 50 years. In 40 years perhaps it will only take 25 to travel -- thus we should wait 40 years before launching to arrive first
Rod Taylor