No more solar wind for Voyager 1 spacecraft

Imagine how powerful an observatory would be out there about the same distance, or maybe slightly farther, with no interference. Like one telescope in each of the major spectra per space craft, and send one out in both directions alng each of three axis. You could do some incredible inter-stellar and inter-galactic astronomy.

Imagine how powerful an observatory would be out there about the same distance, or maybe slightly farther, with no interference. Like one telescope in each of the major spectra per space craft, and send one out in both directions alng each of three axis. You could do some incredible inter-stellar and inter-galactic astronomy.

i think the data transmission rate is too low at that distance to be viable
i dont think there would be much of an advantage over even the hubble either

"Once again, we face the predicament of redoing our models."

Why?

I didn't see what information overturned which assumption about space. Did I overlook something in this article?

Well, if the solar wind is being measured by its impact.. or lack of it on Voyager, then the speed is actually the same as Voyager's. Not zero, but 38k mph. And even as Voyager enters 'intersolar' space, there will be a meshing of the winds, those outward bound and those inward. Of course wind is a earth centric word. I wonder just how many particles per square centimeter are in the space around Voyager right now.

Imagine how powerful an observatory would be out there about the same distance, or maybe slightly farther, with no interference. Like one telescope in each of the major spectra per space craft, and send one out in both directions alng each of three axis. You could do some incredible inter-stellar and inter-galactic astronomy.

i think the data transmission rate is too low at that distance to be viable
i dont think there would be much of an advantage over even the hubble either

I don't think the transmission rate is that much of a concern. Sure it may take a day or so to receive data, but the quality could be extraordinary. Only downfall is maintenance...how long did it take voyager to get to that distance?

This floors me. I cant wait till one of our craft actually leaves the system. And it still works! Awesome.

Voyager crafts are amazing pieces of human engineering. 33 years later and they still work. That's saying a lot, considering the space age isn't much older than the spacecraft themselves. Imagine the kinds of probes we could create today, if only our governments still cared about space exploration..

Forget probes...let's get out there and see things with our own eyes.

Probes are cool when they work as expected and even beyond expectations but we also should be working on technologies that will allow for something like that.

@Skepticus Rex
Not much of a skepticus are you? Why dont you volentuur for this suicide mission?
/@

I say make high-tech probes. Who knows what kind of mineral deposits we can discover close by with these probes. Then we can send miners there and gain alot, maybe enough to create advanced alloys for spaceships.
We could also send particle accelators in to space to create uranium or other nuclear fuels from solar power.
edit: That gave me an idea; particle accelerators in probes, so they can create gasic fuels for manouvering, it would expand their life time by alot.

I don't think the transmission rate is that much of a concern. Sure it may take a day or so to receive data, but the quality could be extraordinary. Only downfall is maintenance...how long did it take voyager to get to that distance?

It took 33 years. However, some of the next generation prototype rocket engines currently in development by the ESA and NASA are going to be capable of propelling a space craft to the same distance in about 1/5th the time, and that's without gravity assist.

I don't know how long it will be before we see the first outer solar system or interstellar probes with these new technologies, but even if they weren't launched for another 10 years, they would still be able to completely over-take the voyagers within 9 years.

So if you launched today, they'd overtake voyager 1 in 6.5 years (2017). If you launched ten years from now, they'd overtake voyager 1 in 2030.

Well, if the solar wind is being measured by its impact.. or lack of it on Voyager, then the speed is actually the same as Voyager's. Not zero, but 38k mph.

From the article:

When the speed of the charged particles hitting the outward face of Voyager 1 matched the spacecraft's speed, researchers knew that the net outward speed of the solar wind was zero.

If the measured speed of the particles hitting the front of Voyager equals the known speed of the spacecraft, that means Voyager is "running into" the relatively stationary particles. So the speed of the particles actually is zero.

So the speed of the particles actually is zero.

Well, zero-ish. Unless they are at absolute zero, they'll always have a little thermal movement. Also they say "net outward speed," which to me suggests that while their distance from the Sun doesn't change by much, they still probably have some velocity in other directions (sort of like they are orbiting the Sun at a constant distance).

Imagine how powerful an observatory would be out there about the same distance, or maybe slightly farther, with no interference. Like one telescope in each of the major spectra per space craft, and send one out in both directions alng each of three axis. You could do some incredible inter-stellar and inter-galactic astronomy.

We could build a craft to get out that far -- and we could get it to stop so that it could take good pictures of the universe -- the issue is IMHO energy. the Voyager craft are nuclear powered with a limited amount of energy - there is themocouple degredation as well as fuel decay. --

I am just saying that an obervatory takes a good bit of power -- Hubble's solar cells produce 2800W of electricity - no clue on Whrs in a day but lets assume thats constant -- Voyager on the ofter hand produces less than 320W on nuclear power.

To people who think you have to get out of the solar system to take good pictures, permanent shadowed craters of the moon should work pretty darn good in the mean time.

To people who think you have to get out of the solar system to take good pictures, permanent shadowed craters of the moon should work pretty darn good in the mean time.

Well, I think we should do some of both, eventually.

Observatories on the far side of the moon would be in total darkness for 14 days at a time, and would have the added benefit of being shielded from all normal earth communications. They could use solar panels to charge capacitors or batteries for power during the 14 days in the sun, to be used during the dark phase.

To people who think we should put humans in deep space... not likely for quite a while. Nor should we. The human body as it is now is wholly unsuited (pun not intended) to venture into a radioactive toxic wasteland of extreme temperatures and pressure differentials.

@Skepticus Rex
Not much of a skepticus are you? Why dont you volentuur for this suicide mission?
/@

I say make high-tech probes. Who knows what kind of mineral deposits we can discover close by with these probes. Then we can send miners there and gain alot, maybe enough to create advanced alloys for spaceships.
...edit: That gave me an idea; particle accelerators in probes, so they can create gasic fuels for manouvering, it would expand their life time by alot.

That is exactly why I said above that we should be working toward technlogies that would make that happen. We are incapable of doing it now. If we spend all the money building probes and not developing technology, where will we go? Nowhere!

As to probes with particle accelerators... You are aware of how large they are, aren't you?

And, I've already volunteered. I have an email from NASA sitting in front of me requesting a proposal for a rather dangerous mission involving me. No, I cannot give details.

*sigh* OK SR, does it involve a rogue asteroid, a drill ship, nuclear warheads, and a shaved monkey called Bruce?

I can say that it does not involve asteroids. I also can say that it does not involve a drill ship, nuclear warheads or monkeys.

Sorry, but I cannot say more. You can sigh all you want but I have the email sitting right in front of me. Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant.

And, no, I do not have to prove anything to you or to anyone else. Mine is just to write the proposal in one of the two formats required, submit it for consideration and wait for the answer at the end of all the red tape.

I will not leak information. Look elsewhere because it isn't coming from me. If the proposal is accepted and the planning stage begins, I am sure you can read about it in the newspaper should it be deemed appropriate for public consumption.

wellll, doesn't sound particularly dangerous for you, but good luck!

Voyager crafts are amazing pieces of human engineering. 33 years later and they still work. That's saying a lot, considering the space age isn't much older than the spacecraft themselves. Imagine the kinds of probes we could create today, if only our governments still cared about space exploration..

That was before china started making integral components of our missiles and space craft for us, I bet you voyager wouldn't have lasted even 10 years if it were built nowadays.

I can say that it does not involve asteroids. I also can say that it does not involve a drill ship, nuclear warheads or monkeys.

Sorry, but I cannot say more. You can sigh all you want but I have the email sitting right in front of me. Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant.

And, no, I do not have to prove anything to you or to anyone else. Mine is just to write the proposal in one of the two formats required, submit it for consideration and wait for the answer at the end of all the red tape.

I will not leak information. Look elsewhere because it isn't coming from me. If the proposal is accepted and the planning stage begins, I am sure you can read about it in the newspaper should it be deemed appropriate for public consumption.

You forget to take your medication today? There's an article somewhere around here about how lithium is good for you and should be fed to the general masses to lower suicidality rates... take your lithium it is good for you, nasa likes you.

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah, whatever you say...

If I had to take lithium any proposed mission involving me would be scrubbed without a second thought. Nice try, though.

Thing is, I have the email sitting here in front of me. You do not. Just because you cannot see what is on my desk, do not assume that the email does not exist.

But, if it made you feel better about yourself to act as you have, I suppose it is so much the better. :)

Take your protein pills, and put your helmet on...

@Skepticus Rex
Not much of a skepticus are you? Why dont you volentuur for this suicide mission?

I'd gladly voluteer to be the first man to leave the solar system regardless of whether I died or not. Just imagine what you could see without local interference.

@Skepticus Rex
Not much of a skepticus are you? Why dont you volentuur for this suicide mission?

I'd gladly voluteer to be the first man to leave the solar system regardless of whether I died or not. Just imagine what you could see without local interference.

Me also. I've had my kids. Biologically my job is done, and we are all going to die anyhow, so why not achieve something with what's left to us?

I found it interesting that the picture at the top of the article is from the wikipedia heliosphere page... at the bottom... in the section labeled "outdated models"

http://en.wikiped...iosphere

Transcript from the final radio messages received from intrepid explorers Skeptic Heretic and SteveL, just days after the launch of their scheduled 30 year voyage to the edge of our solar system. Little is know about the fate of the astronauts:

"Ground control, this is Skeptic, we are having a problem with the audio system in the spacecraft.

Ground control here, can you describe the problem?

SteveL here, It sounds a lot like the Macarena, playing over and over. Can you make it stop?

(after a long pause)

Ground control here, I have some bad news for you, guys."

Nice! Now to wait 4 years later! Cheers

Skepticus Rex,

And, I've already volunteered. I have an email from NASA sitting in front of me requesting a proposal for a rather dangerous mission involving me. No, I cannot give details.

Thing is, I have the email sitting here in front of me. You do not. Just because you cannot see what is on my desk, do not assume that the email does not exist.

I will not leak information.

Pretty free with information for someone who does not leak information, Letter, NASA, you're posting all this after mentioning sending something out into deep space. Good job not leaking anything.

Nothing has been leaked. You just think something has been leaked because you are trying to read between the lines.

By the way, if the email had said 'classified' (or anything like it) the existence of the email never would have been mentioned at all.

We could build a craft to get out that far -- and we could get it to stop so that it could take good pictures of the universe -- the issue is IMHO energy. the Voyager craft are nuclear powered with a limited amount of energy - there is themocouple degredation as well as fuel decay. --

I am just saying that an obervatory takes a good bit of power -- Hubble's solar cells produce 2800W of electricity - no clue on Whrs in a day but lets assume thats constant -- Voyager on the ofter hand produces less than 320W on nuclear power.

Not to mention the trouble with maintenance on something like Hubble as compared to Voyager 1 (which is much less complicated). Observatories seem to have a much shorter shelf-life compared to something like Voyager, if only because there is so much more which can go wrong. Although every penny and maintenance mission to restore and upgrade Hubble has been more than worth it.

If only people could even realize the baiting and jokery lol.