Ready for a real star trek

Los Angeles Times ^ | 8 September 2012 | Eryn Brown

[OldNavyVet]

"35 years after its launch, Voyager 1 is poised to 'leave' the bubble of the solar system and sail into the mystery of interstellar space"

[OldNavyVet]

We're still getting data from both Voyager I and II, and each craft carries a message "... to instruct alien civilizations ... about humans and our lives on Earth."

[Jonty30]

It’s a cookbook.

[cripplecreek]

"35 years after its launch, Voyager 1 is poised to 'leave' the bubble of the solar system and sail into the mystery of interstellar space"

Well, not exactly but what do you expect from Journalists?



Voyager is just a bit beyond the closest orbit of Sedna.

[JRandomFreeper]

How far out is it, expressed in light hours? Go easy. I'm just a cook.

/johnny

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

In what ways does what you posted contradict what’s in the article?

[JRandomFreeper]

Because it's still inside the orbit of bodies orbiting Sol?

It's also not quite through the heliosphere shockwave, I understand. Facinating data coming in about that.

/johnny

[cripplecreek]

I don't know how far it is in light hours but for reference the new horizons space craft is about 3 hours and 17 light minutes from the sun.

[reefdiver]

In 200 years it will be on display at the Smithsonian

[JRandomFreeper]

That's the order of magnitude I was looking for. Good enough for a cook, anyway. Space is vast, empty, and deep.

Sounds like a good place to set up a black-market business. ;)

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

In 200 years it will be on display at the Smithsonian

YOU go get it. ;)

/johnny

[cripplecreek]

In 200 years it will be on display at the Smithsonian

I hope so. Our propulsion capabilities are getting better all the time.

[Edward Teach]

...only to be blown to bits by a Klingon Bird of Prey.

[null and void]

In 200 years it will be on display at the Smithsonian

At the current trajectory, more likely in Beijing.

[Mycroft Holmes]

According to JPL about 16 hours 53 minutes one way.

[UCANSEE2]

If only I had a dark flashlight and some dark energy batteries I could point it at the spacecraft and pull it back here before Monday.

[UCANSEE2]

Our propulsion capabilities are getting better all the time.

True, but until we can find better brakes, that type of propulsion would only help in never-stop, one way trips.

So... you could go OUTRUN our space probe, but grabbing it and coming back.... ? Have you ever tried a hard left turn at light speed ?

[UCANSEE2]

Space is vast, empty, and deep.

Merely a matter of scale, and especially point of view. For instance, to those at the center of our galaxy, there is hardly any space at all.

[cripplecreek]

True, but until we can find better brakes, that type of propulsion would only help in never-stop, one way trips.

This is true. The Project Deadelus proposals were all for flybys of Alpha Centauri or Barnard's star due to the speed which was expected to be around 12% the speed of light.

Something like 50 years getting there with a few months taking readings and launching probes as the main craft passed through.

[stillonaroll]

Could a human survive aboard a spacecraft moving near light speed? Wouldn't the G-forces of acceleration be crushing?

[generally]

It’s the acceleration that is the problem. If you accelerate gradually, no problem.

Think about traveling 60 mph in your car. Once you’re traveling at a constant speed of 60 mph, you don’t really feel anything. But if you go from a dead stop to 60 in a very short time, you feel the crushing sensation. If you accelerate slowly, you don’t feel it.

Same for an airplane - even higher speeds.

So theoretically, if you accelerate slowly, you could travel at near light speed with no crushing.