As @NASAVoyager 2 enters interstellar space (see go.nasa.gov/2L5vbXM), it’s worth remembering what a (very) long, strange trip it has been. It started more than *four decades* ago.
Date: Aug. 20, 1977
Distance from the Sun: 1 Astronomical Unit (AU), the mean distance between Earth and the Sun, about 93 million miles (149.6 million kilometers).
Voyager 2 sets out for the stars--literally, as we’ll see.
Distance from the Sun: 1 Astronomical Unit (AU), the mean distance between Earth and the Sun, about 93 million miles (149.6 million kilometers).
Voyager 2 sets out for the stars--literally, as we’ll see.
Date: July 1979
Distance from the Sun: about 5 Astronomical Units (AU)
The spacecraft passes by Jupiter and captures the erupting volcanoes of its moon, Io, in action.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter
Distance from the Sun: about 5 Astronomical Units (AU)
The spacecraft passes by Jupiter and captures the erupting volcanoes of its moon, Io, in action.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter
Date: August 1981
Distance from the Sun: about 9 AU
Voyager 2 observes Saturn’s transfixing rings up close.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn
Distance from the Sun: about 9 AU
Voyager 2 observes Saturn’s transfixing rings up close.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn
Date: January 1986
Distance from the Sun: about 19 AU
Voyager 2 becomes the first Earthly visitor to the planet Uranus and its moons, including Miranda.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus
Distance from the Sun: about 19 AU
Voyager 2 becomes the first Earthly visitor to the planet Uranus and its moons, including Miranda.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus
Date: August 1989
Distance from the Sun: about 30 AU
The spacecraft speeds past far distant Neptune, blowing scientists away with its wonders.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/neptune
Distance from the Sun: about 30 AU
The spacecraft speeds past far distant Neptune, blowing scientists away with its wonders.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/neptune
Date: November 2018
Distance from the Sun: 119 AU (about 11 billion miles!)
The spacecraft follows its sister ship, Voyager 1, in escaping the heliosphere. Voyager 2 will pass through the neighborhood of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. The journey will take 296,000 years.
Distance from the Sun: 119 AU (about 11 billion miles!)
The spacecraft follows its sister ship, Voyager 1, in escaping the heliosphere. Voyager 2 will pass through the neighborhood of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. The journey will take 296,000 years.
