It is Official…
Voyager-1 has finally exited the solar system’s boundaries!
The Voyager-1 arrived in interstellar space on August 25, 2012,but it wasn’t until September 12, 2013, that official news came rushing in that the only man-made space craft, Voyager-1 had successfully exited the solar system and is now beyond the heliosphere’s outer layer, called heliopause. And it is now traveling through the interstellar medium. The interstellar medium is the space between the sun’s heliosphere and the other solar systems or stellar systems in our galaxy.
The voyager has traveled for 36-year- and is now 19 billion kilometers (12 billion miles) from the Sun traveling at a speed of about 61 155 km/h (38 000 mph).
For the last year Voyager-1 has been traveling through interstellar plasma or ionized gas in the transitional region immediately outside of the solar heliosphere, but where the effects from the sun are still present. A report on the analysis of its new data is found in the edition of the journal Science at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.
So, if news that the Voyager-1 had already left the solar system has been going on for a while, then why only now has the Voyager-1 team made the news official? “We have been cautious because we’re dealing with one of the most important milestones in the history of exploration,” said Voyager Project Scientist Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “Only now do we have the data – and the analysis – we needed.” So, in conclusion, when it comes to news about the sun and it’s mysteries, it is best and wise to be as cautious as possible and analyze and wait for definite results that will not be disputed later.
So, are we there yet? According to all evidences; yes, we are finally there. And now the new question will be, “Where are we going?” Well, perhaps in another 36 years, we will find out: when we get there!
For now, scientists don’t know how far the Voyager-1 will travel outside of the heliosphere before it will be completely free from our sun’s influence.
Voyager-1 is expected to continue to transmit data until late 2020.
As we wait and hope for communication with extra-solar system species, we truly must congratulate NASA and its past Voyager-1 team. The Voyager-1 has definitely been a giant step for mankind, considering the time and limited resources available at its birth and launch.
You can read more about Voyager-1 adventures into interstellar space at The Watcher’s website.
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