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The Voyager 1 probe is now one light day from Earth...

Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:41 pm
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
70423 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:41 pm
That means any signal sent or received will take one day to reach and return. As of this writing, the Voyager probe is a little less than 16 billion miles from the planet, traveling at a speed of about 10.5 miles per second.

The Voyager 1 space probe lifted off the face of the Earth on September 5, 1977, and is the first man-made object to reach interstellar space.

Posted by TheHarahanian
Actually not Harahan as of 6/2023
Member since May 2017
23509 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:43 pm to
I believe that’s the fastest manmade object*, and it took 48 1/2 years to travel 1 light day.

*Checked with Grok. For sustained speed it’s Voyager 1, but the Parker Solar Probe has gone faster for a short duration.
This post was edited on 2/6/26 at 8:14 pm
Posted by jaytothen
Member since Jan 2020
8482 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:53 pm to
quote:

traveling at a speed of about 10.5 miles per second.


Gas savings is astronomical
Posted by Slippy
Across the rivah
Member since Aug 2005
7541 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:56 pm to
Why are you so gay for space?
Posted by OhioLSUfan
Columbus, OH
Member since Oct 2007
1975 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:57 pm to
In the next couple of hundred years they are going to send a spacecraft millions of light years away- point a big ole telescope towards the earth and watch the dinosaurs
Posted by bhtigerfan
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2008
33224 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:58 pm to
Wow, 48.5 years to travel 1 light day, not year!

That means it will only take 17,654 more years to travel 1 light year! Can’t wait to see that!
Posted by Everyday Is Saturday
Member since Dec 2025
387 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:59 pm to
quote:

it took 48 1/2 years to travel 1 light day.


If ever one needs to feel wee small…

Damn, how many years to just to cross the Milky Way? 100k ish light YEARS?

Will calculate that when I dust off scientific notation rules.
Posted by gmac8604
Green Bay, WI
Member since Jun 2012
1340 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:59 pm to
So you're telling me there are 48 year old batteries that are still working to this day?
Posted by chRxis
None of your fricking business
Member since Feb 2008
27434 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 7:59 pm to
quote:

it took 48 1/2 years to travel 1 light day

and still not even close to the next nearest star...

Posted by billjamin
Houston
Member since Jun 2019
17240 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:00 pm to
quote:

traveling at a speed of about 10.5 miles per second.

That’s a mean passing gear.
Posted by Havoc
Member since Nov 2015
38343 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:07 pm to
quote:

That means it will only take 17,654 more years to travel 1 light year! Can’t wait to see that!

I’ll buy the first round.
Posted by Spankum
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
61187 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:12 pm to
quote:

I believe that’s the fastest manmade object, and it took 48 1/2 years to travel 1 light day.



makes you realize how vast space is !
Posted by Revorising
Member since Jan 2013
1057 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:16 pm to
Amazing!!
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
71480 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:17 pm to
Is it accelerating still?
Posted by Boss13
Mobile
Member since Oct 2016
1955 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 8:32 pm to
quote:

So you're telling me there are 48 year old batteries that are still working to this day?


Radioisotope thermoelectric generator

Wikipedia

Posted by idlewatcher
Planet Arium
Member since Jan 2012
94192 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 9:16 pm to
This is a great share
Posted by Bestbank Tiger
Premium Member
Member since Jan 2005
80093 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 9:19 pm to
We have much better tech now. We should launch a Voyager III into deep space.
Posted by Darth_Vader
A galaxy far, far away
Member since Dec 2011
72684 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 9:33 pm to
quote:

Damn, how many years to just to cross the Milky Way? 100k ish light YEARS?


Close. The Milky Way is 105,700 light years across. And if you want to travel to our closest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, it will only take you 2,500,000 light years to get there. Or you could simply wait about 4,000,000,000 years and the Andromeda galaxy will collide with the Milky Way.

Space is VERY big.
Posted by Pepe Lepew
Looney tuned .....
Member since Oct 2008
38215 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 10:04 pm to
Sure it is
Posted by chRxis
None of your fricking business
Member since Feb 2008
27434 posts
Posted on 2/6/26 at 10:17 pm to
quote:

Or you could simply wait about 4,000,000,000 years and the Andromeda galaxy will collide with the Milky Way.


by then the Sun will enlarge to a red giant and engulf Earth, so there's that...

quote:


Space is VERY big.

yep... and honestly, i don't even think that we can and will ever truly grasp exact how big it is... like it's really unfathomable, and truly hard to even quantify and understand...
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