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How Do We Know When Voyager Reaches Interstellar Space?

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2013Sciencealpha centauri, data on plasma, direct measurements, ed stone, exploration, galactic cosmic rays, interstellar magnetic fields, interstellar plasma, interstellar space, ionized gas, mid ocean ridges, milky way galaxy, neptune, particles, plasma environment, plasma influence, plasma oscillations, saturn, sea floors, solar storms, solar system, uranus, visited jupiter, voyager

Whether and when NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, humankind’s most distant object, broke through to interstellar space, the space between stars, has been a thorny issue. For the last year, claims have surfaced every few months that Voyager 1 has “left our solar system.” Why has the Voyager team held off from saying the craft reached interstellar space until now?

“We have been cautious because we’re dealing with one of the most important milestones in the history of exploration,” said Voyager Project Scientist Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. “Only now do we have the data — and the analysis — we needed.” (more…)

NASA’s Voyager 1 Explores Final Frontier of Our ‘Solar Bubble’

By Guest PostJune 29, 2013Sciencecharged particles, cosmic ray, depletion region, ed stone, energetic particle data, final frontier, heliosphere, interstellar arrival, interstellar space, johns hopkins university, jupiter, leonard burlaga, magnetic field, magnetosphere, Milky Way, NASA, solar bubble, solar originating particles, stamatios krimigis, twin spacecraft, voyager 1, voyager project scientist

PASADENA, Calif. — Data from Voyager 1, now more than 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun, suggest the spacecraft is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

Research using Voyager 1 data and published in the journal Science today provides new detail on the last region the spacecraft will cross before it leaves the heliosphere, or the bubble around our sun, and enters interstellar space. Three papers describe how Voyager 1’s entry into a region called the magnetic highway resulted in simultaneous observations of the highest rate so far of charged particles from outside heliosphere and the disappearance of charged particles from inside the heliosphere. (more…)

A Telescope at the Bottom of the World

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2013Scienceantarctic plateau, interstellar space, molecular clouds, plateau observatory, star forming nebulae, terahertz telescope

Alone in a wilderness of snow and ice, 600 miles from the Earth’s South Pole, a solitary telescope watches the stars, searching for the origins of the colorful nebulae in which stars are born.

The brilliantly colored, sweeping nebulae featured on magazine covers and posters lining museum exhibits are the birthplaces and cradles of the stars in our galaxy. (more…)

H3+: The Molecule that Made the Universe

By Guest PostApril 13, 2012Scienceformation of stars, interstellar space, molecular ion, quantum mechanical level, triatomic hydrogen ion, vibrational spectrum

In a study that pushed quantum mechanical theory and research capabilities to the limit, UA researchers have found a way to see the molecule that likely made the universe – or at least the hot and fiery bits of it.

Lurking in the vast, chilly regions between stars, the unassuming molecule known as a triatomic hydrogen ion, or H3+, may hold secrets of the formation of the first stars after the Big Bang. (more…)

Voyager 2 Completes Switch to Backup Thruster Set

By Guest PostNovember 15, 2011Sciencebackup thrusters, deep space network, earth, engineers, heliosheath, interstellar space, NASA, power requirements, pressure of interstellar gas, rate of energy, solar system, spacecraft, voyager 1 and voyager 2, voyager 2

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Voyager 2 has successfully switched to the backup set of thrusters that controls the roll of the spacecraft. Deep Space Network personnel sent commands to the spacecraft to make the change on Nov. 4 and received confirmation today that the switch has been made.

The change allows engineers to reduce the amount of power that the 34-year-old spacecraft needs to operate by turning off the heater that keeps the fuel to the primary thrusters warm. Although the rate of energy generated by Voyager 2’s nuclear power source continues to decline, by reducing its power requirements, engineers expect the spacecraft can continue to operate for another decade. (more…)

Tag Archives: interstellar space

How Do We Know When Voyager Reaches Interstellar Space?

NASA’s Voyager 1 Explores Final Frontier of Our ‘Solar Bubble’

A Telescope at the Bottom of the World

H3+: The Molecule that Made the Universe

Voyager 2 Completes Switch to Backup Thruster Set