To Boldly Go - 5 Voyager Part A January 2015
For Larger Journey Illustrations click:
www.explore-universe.weebly.com
Then click Journey Illustrations under the Voyager tab
A tale of two Voyagers
The Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful Solar Winds, (streams of radioactive charged particles emanating from the Sun). In turn, the Sun’s magnetic field creates a protective bubble known as the Heliosphere that protects us and everything in our solar system from a far more lethal radiation that is outside the bubble. That radiation is 40 times more lethal than our Sun and would destroy all life on our Earth (our Goldilocks environment). Some of this deadly radiation originates from Exploding Stars (Gamma Rays from Super Nova) and a variety of cosmic plasma and rays floating around between the Stars in the Milky Way.
Today two machines build by Humans are leaving the Heliosphere’s protective bubble. Actually one is already just outside the safety bubble in a region of space known as Interstellar Space and the second one is about to cross that threshold.
The story begins when our ancestors sent two primitive one ton unmanned spacecraft, Voyager 2 on August 20, 1977 and 16 days later Voyager 1, to take pictures and gather scientific data of Jupiter and Saturn. To accomplish this mission two Voyager spacecraft were built to work for 5 years (requirements). It made sense to send two spacecraft in case one of them did not survive the hazards (Asteroids or Saturn rings) of the mission.
But brewing within NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was a conspiracy to accomplish more. The Astrologist studying the tea leaves noticed the planets were about to be align just right for planet hopping. Every 176 years Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune align themselves in a direct path of each other so that a spacecraft visiting Jupiter could then travel to Saturn and then continue to Uranus and Neptune.
The solar system gods bestowed on the conspirators, knowledge of Gravity Assist and reprogrammable computers. Using the Gravity of the planet just visited, the Spacecraft could be then propelled to the next planet on the tour. They also bestowed skills to build a computer whose software could be changed out (reprogramed) while it was millions of miles from earth. In those days, computers were hard coded meaning they could only do tasks that were programed during manufacturing. To do a different task you needed to buy a different computer. That ability and invention to remotely update and reprogram computers was passed down to our IPhones and tablets.
Today January 2015, Voyager 1 is about 12 billion miles from earth and Voyager 2 is about 10 billion miles. Both Spacecraft are in daily touch with their guardians at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. One way communication between Earth and Voyager 1 takes about 16 hours (The data and messages are travelling at the speed of light). The following is a log of their adventure.
Fantastic Journey of Voyager 1 & 2
www.explore-universe.weebly.com
Then click Journey Illustrations under the Voyager tab
A tale of two Voyagers
The Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful Solar Winds, (streams of radioactive charged particles emanating from the Sun). In turn, the Sun’s magnetic field creates a protective bubble known as the Heliosphere that protects us and everything in our solar system from a far more lethal radiation that is outside the bubble. That radiation is 40 times more lethal than our Sun and would destroy all life on our Earth (our Goldilocks environment). Some of this deadly radiation originates from Exploding Stars (Gamma Rays from Super Nova) and a variety of cosmic plasma and rays floating around between the Stars in the Milky Way.
Today two machines build by Humans are leaving the Heliosphere’s protective bubble. Actually one is already just outside the safety bubble in a region of space known as Interstellar Space and the second one is about to cross that threshold.
The story begins when our ancestors sent two primitive one ton unmanned spacecraft, Voyager 2 on August 20, 1977 and 16 days later Voyager 1, to take pictures and gather scientific data of Jupiter and Saturn. To accomplish this mission two Voyager spacecraft were built to work for 5 years (requirements). It made sense to send two spacecraft in case one of them did not survive the hazards (Asteroids or Saturn rings) of the mission.
But brewing within NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was a conspiracy to accomplish more. The Astrologist studying the tea leaves noticed the planets were about to be align just right for planet hopping. Every 176 years Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune align themselves in a direct path of each other so that a spacecraft visiting Jupiter could then travel to Saturn and then continue to Uranus and Neptune.
The solar system gods bestowed on the conspirators, knowledge of Gravity Assist and reprogrammable computers. Using the Gravity of the planet just visited, the Spacecraft could be then propelled to the next planet on the tour. They also bestowed skills to build a computer whose software could be changed out (reprogramed) while it was millions of miles from earth. In those days, computers were hard coded meaning they could only do tasks that were programed during manufacturing. To do a different task you needed to buy a different computer. That ability and invention to remotely update and reprogram computers was passed down to our IPhones and tablets.
Today January 2015, Voyager 1 is about 12 billion miles from earth and Voyager 2 is about 10 billion miles. Both Spacecraft are in daily touch with their guardians at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. One way communication between Earth and Voyager 1 takes about 16 hours (The data and messages are travelling at the speed of light). The following is a log of their adventure.
Fantastic Journey of Voyager 1 & 2
AU (Astronomical Unit) = 93
million miles which is the approximate distance of our
Earth to our SUN.
+ Mercury ~ 36 million miles 0.387 AU
+ Venus ~ 67 million miles 0.720 AU
+ Earth ~ 93 million miles 1 AU
Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977
Voyager 1 launched on September 5, 1977
+ Mars ~ 142 million miles 1.5 AU
+ Jupiter ~ 483 million miles 5.2 AU
Voyager 1 arrives and flies by Jupiter on March 5, 1979
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Jupiter on July 9, 1979
On the way to Saturn, a few of the scientific instruments on board Voyager 1 failed, but all the equipment on Voyager 2 was OK. It was decided to reprogram Voyager 2 to fly by Uranus and Neptune after Saturn and have Voyager 1 spend some quality time around Saturn and its moons.
+ Saturn ~ 891 million miles 9.6 AU
Voyager 1 arrives and flies by Saturn on November 12, 1980
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Jupiter on August 25, 1981
+ Uranus ~ 1,785 million miles 19.2 AU
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Uranus on January 24, 1986
+ Neptune ~ 2,794 million miles 30 AU
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Neptune on August 25, 1989
+ Mercury ~ 36 million miles 0.387 AU
+ Venus ~ 67 million miles 0.720 AU
+ Earth ~ 93 million miles 1 AU
Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977
Voyager 1 launched on September 5, 1977
+ Mars ~ 142 million miles 1.5 AU
+ Jupiter ~ 483 million miles 5.2 AU
Voyager 1 arrives and flies by Jupiter on March 5, 1979
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Jupiter on July 9, 1979
On the way to Saturn, a few of the scientific instruments on board Voyager 1 failed, but all the equipment on Voyager 2 was OK. It was decided to reprogram Voyager 2 to fly by Uranus and Neptune after Saturn and have Voyager 1 spend some quality time around Saturn and its moons.
+ Saturn ~ 891 million miles 9.6 AU
Voyager 1 arrives and flies by Saturn on November 12, 1980
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Jupiter on August 25, 1981
+ Uranus ~ 1,785 million miles 19.2 AU
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Uranus on January 24, 1986
+ Neptune ~ 2,794 million miles 30 AU
Voyager 2 arrives and flies by Neptune on August 25, 1989
+ Kuiper Belt ~ 2,794 to 5,115 million
miles 30 to 55 AU
The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped ring, containing more than a trillion comets; some of them flash across our Sky as they enter the interior of our solar system in an orbit around our Sun. The Kuiper Belt is also the home to hundreds of thousands of icy worlds, including the largest being the former Planet Pluto that was demoted to a dwarf planet. The New Horizons Spacecraft will arrive at Pluto in July 2015. (Stay tune for a “To Boldly Go” article about Pluto and the New Horizons Spacecraft).
Comets that take less than 200 years (considered short term) to orbit our Sun usually originated from the Kuiper Belt. Long Term Comets that usually take thousands of years to orbit our Sun, originate from the OORT Cloud.
Both Voyagers crossed the Kuiper Belt safely.
To Be Continued: To Boldly Go - 6 Voyager Part B
The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped ring, containing more than a trillion comets; some of them flash across our Sky as they enter the interior of our solar system in an orbit around our Sun. The Kuiper Belt is also the home to hundreds of thousands of icy worlds, including the largest being the former Planet Pluto that was demoted to a dwarf planet. The New Horizons Spacecraft will arrive at Pluto in July 2015. (Stay tune for a “To Boldly Go” article about Pluto and the New Horizons Spacecraft).
Comets that take less than 200 years (considered short term) to orbit our Sun usually originated from the Kuiper Belt. Long Term Comets that usually take thousands of years to orbit our Sun, originate from the OORT Cloud.
Both Voyagers crossed the Kuiper Belt safely.
To Be Continued: To Boldly Go - 6 Voyager Part B