If you haven't seen it, you must see John Glenn's space capsule at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Little larger than a trash can. Toggle switches and gauges. The Right Stuff.
Posted on 03/20/2013 2:57:50 PM PDT by LibWhacker
WASHINGTON – Thirty-five years after its launch, Voyager 1 appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere, according to a new study appearing online today.
The heliosphere is a region of space dominated by the Sun and its wind of energetic particles, and which is thought to be enclosed, bubble-like, in the surrounding interstellar medium of gas and dust that pervades the Milky Way galaxy.
On August 25, 2012, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft measured drastic changes in radiation levels, more than 11 billion miles from the Sun. Anomalous cosmic rays, which are cosmic rays trapped in the outer heliosphere, all but vanished, dropping to less than 1 percent of previous amounts. At the same time, galactic cosmic rays – cosmic radiation from outside of the solar system – spiked to levels not seen since Voyager's launch, with intensities as much as twice previous levels.
The findings have been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
"Within just a few days, the heliospheric intensity of trapped radiation decreased, and the cosmic ray intensity went up as you would expect if it exited the heliosphere," said Bill Webber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He calls this transition boundary the "heliocliff."
In the GRL article, the authors state: "It appears that [Voyager 1] has exited the main solar modulation region, revealing [hydrogen] and [helium] spectra characteristic of those to be expected in the local interstellar medium."
However, Webber notes, scientists are continuing to debate whether Voyager 1 has reached interstellar space or entered a separate, undefined region beyond the solar system.
"It's outside the normal heliosphere, I would say that," Webber said. "We're in a new region. And everything we're measuring is different and exciting."
“The signal from Voyager 1 takes approximately 17 hours to travel to Earth.” http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/news/voyager_1_new_region.html
It will. I do not doubt it.
probably just the Romulan Neutral Zone...
Correct. Another way to look at it: One light-day is about 16 billion miles, so it takes approx (11/16)*24=16.5 hours.
If you haven't seen it, you must see John Glenn's space capsule at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Little larger than a trash can. Toggle switches and gauges. The Right Stuff.
New Horizons is making pretty good time on the way to its 2015 flyby of pluto. Its a little over 3 and a half light hours from us now. We’re catching up now because we’ve come from behind the sun and are headed in the same direction for the next couple of months.
A vestige of American ingenuity that may outlast any recent examples. Truly incredible.
I’d love to but no way I fly east under TSA BSand it’s now too far for me to drive. But I wish I could.
I have been to March, Edwards, Davis and Holloman museums and the Holloman/Almogordo New Mexico museum has some VERY cool toys. The rocket sleds are a trip. The Atlas rocket motor is pretty small too...NOT!
I love me some aircraft/space junk!
Oh and the UFO museum at Roswell ;)
“Star Trek: The Motion Picture”—because bald women are so hot!
I remember the controversy. People were aghast! At least where I was in upstate NY. BALD WOMAN?!?!?!?
End times...
It was a controversy?
Up in small town America, church ladies were having fits. It was like NUDITY!!! No self respecting woman would shave her head!
I was in the sticks ;) But yea, people op there were aghast.
We used to have a space museum at the community college in Jackson Michigan because a couple of the early astronauts were from the area. (McDivitt and White) they had a cooked Gemini Capsule inside, a couple of rocket engines, moon rocks, and a full sized mockup of a rocket.
I believe that stuff all went into storage or to other museums.
Sucks when any museum closes regardless of size. But people are now dissuaded from placing value on history. How can one have an interest in things they never learn of or even know exist? And thus the root of many current problems.
Thanks fieldmarshaldj, and an extra topic for APoD members.
even the right stuff can turn into a dick
...appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere, according to a new study appearing online today.Still no sign of the theoretical Oort cloud of comets, but that's perfect for theoreticians. "Whales speak French at the bottom of the sea" ping.
voyager and the oort cloud
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Ah were wrong. Apparently the stuff from Jackson is now in Kalamazoo MI. and it wasn’t a Gemini capsule it was the Apollo 9 capsule.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3548
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