Voyager 1 Is About to Reach One Light-Day from Earth
3 hours ago
- #space exploration
- #interstellar space
- #Voyager 1
- Voyager 1 will be 16.1 billion miles (25.9 billion km) away by November 15, 2026, making its radio signal take 24 hours (a light-day) to reach Earth.
- Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012 and remains the most distant human-made object, traveling at 11 miles per second (17.7 km/s).
- Powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators, Voyager 1 continues to send data, with its power expected to last into the 2030s.
- Communication delays with Voyager 1 are significant—commands take a day to arrive and another day for confirmation, unlike closer celestial bodies like the Moon or Mars.
- Voyager 1’s journey highlights the vastness of space, with its flybys and the 'Pale Blue Dot' image emphasizing the scale of the solar system and human ingenuity.