A Big Surprise from the Edge of the Solar System

Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : A Big Surprise from the Edge of the Solar System

Author	Message
ML1 Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 25 Nov 01 Posts: 7141 Credit: 3,687,797 RAC: 968	Message 1115232 - Posted: 9 Jun 2011, 22:11:58 UTC Last modified: 9 Jun 2011, 22:12:20 UTC
	A big surprise indeed, and all the more of a surprise for the continued life of some very old distant probes indeed: A Big Surprise from the Edge of the Solar System June 9, 2011: NASA's Voyager probes are truly going where no one has gone before. Gliding silently toward the stars, 9 billion miles from Earth, they are beaming back news from the most distant, unexplored reaches of the solar system. Mission scientists say the probes have just sent back some very big news indeed. ... I never knew magnetic fields could do that! Are they maintained by matching electrical currents in the stellar plasma? Keep searchin', Martin ____________ Mandriva Linux A user friendly OS! See new freedom Mageia2 The Future is what We make IT (GPLv3)
	ID: 1115232 ·

Jason Safoutin Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 8 Sep 05 Posts: 1386 Credit: 200,389 RAC: 0	Message 1115278 - Posted: 10 Jun 2011, 2:13:48 UTC Last modified: 10 Jun 2011, 2:14:19 UTC
	Very interesting! I wonder what if anything, this means for the existence of other planets in "habitable zones." Does this mean there are much less of those zones than one would hope for? What implications if any, or benefits would this have on other planets within or near these zones? ____________ "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". Hebrews 11.3
	ID: 1115278 ·

Neil Blaikie Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 17 May 99 Posts: 142 Credit: 5,566,899 RAC: 1	Message 1115298 - Posted: 10 Jun 2011, 3:54:28 UTC
	Another story on this as well is found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13715764 ____________
	ID: 1115298 ·

Jason Safoutin Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 8 Sep 05 Posts: 1386 Credit: 200,389 RAC: 0	Message 1115603 - Posted: 10 Jun 2011, 21:06:05 UTC Last modified: 10 Jun 2011, 21:08:10 UTC
	Voyager2 on Twitter Here is the twitter feed for Voyager2. It tweets location data for itself and its sister ship Voyager1. It also tweets position changes and other movements they make. Tweet example for movements: "All of the tweeted commands are part of autonomous onboard baseline sequences carried in memory." Very cool! At the last tweet it was "13 hrs 08 mins 46 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2011:160:2L)." BBC is a few hours off but that's ok :P EDIT: Actually BBC is right...Voyager1 is "16 hrs 08 mins 25 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2011:161:1L)". Voyager2 is 13 hours... ____________ "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". Hebrews 11.3
	ID: 1115603 ·

Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 664 Credit: 62,409 RAC: 83	Message 1116564 - Posted: 13 Jun 2011, 6:31:03 UTC
	OK a question, Are the voyagers travelling in the same general direction that the sun is travelling through interstellar space or the opposite direction. In one case they would be going through bow shock and in the other they would be experiencing what happens in the wake. If that analogy is relevant. ____________ Bob DeWoody
	ID: 1116564 ·

skildude Send message Joined: 4 Oct 00 Posts: 8944 Credit: 36,840,789 RAC: 60,721	Message 1116711 - Posted: 13 Jun 2011, 16:14:11 UTC - in response to Message 1116564.
	they are heading in 2 different directions. 1 is heading along the solar plane towards the edge of the heliosphere. The other is taking a course that is off the plane at about 60 degrees above the plane. The drawing shows them hitting what appears to be the bow shock. We can either assume that the drawing is accurate of the artist took some liberties ____________ Proud member of TSWB. End terrorism by building a school
	ID: 1116711 ·

Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 664 Credit: 62,409 RAC: 83	Message 1116926 - Posted: 14 Jun 2011, 5:12:48 UTC - in response to Message 1116711.
	So, in addition to it's own velocity the voyager has imparted to it the velocity of the sun around the center of the galaxy. I understand that by comparison the velocity of the voyager is very small.
	ID: 1116926 ·

Chris S Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 19 Nov 00 Posts: 22841 Credit: 4,533,209 RAC: 5,616	Message 1116988 - Posted: 14 Jun 2011, 13:12:46 UTC
	So, in addition to it's own velocity the voyager has imparted to it the velocity of the sun around the center of the galaxy. I understand that by comparison the velocity of the voyager is very small. Wasn't that once called the "slingshot" method?
	ID: 1116988 ·

Gary Charpentier Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 25 Dec 00 Posts: 10334 Credit: 5,112,013 RAC: 6,541	Message 1116999 - Posted: 14 Jun 2011, 13:54:00 UTC - in response to Message 1116926.
	So, in addition to it's own velocity the voyager has imparted to it the velocity of the sun around the center of the galaxy. I understand that by comparison the velocity of the voyager is very small. There is no absolute velocity. Or did you mean that Voyager does not have galactic escape velocity. ____________
	ID: 1116999 ·

Message boards : Science (non-SETI) : A Big Surprise from the Edge of the Solar System