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Voyager 1 Reaches Interstellar Space

Posted by timothy on from the send-more-satellites dept.

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?"

3 of 565 comments (clear)

  1. In typical /. fashion... by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I didn't read the article. What kind of fuel does thing use that will last until 2020?

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  2. What happens when it runs out of nuclear fuel? by HEMI426 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'm betting it'll drift around for a while, then be discovered by machines from the machine planet. Of course, we all know what happens after that.

  3. Re:IANAM by MarcQuadra · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Ultra-rough math:

    the Voyager is 12.5 light-hours from earth, I call it 12.

    12 is 1/2 of one day, there are about 730 half-days in a year.

    voyager is .0014 light-years away.

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    "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails