# Historic: first manmade object to leave solar system



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

The Voyager-1 spacecraft has become the first manmade object to leave the Solar System.

Scientists say the probe's instruments indicate it has moved beyond the bubble of hot gas from our Sun and is now moving in the space between the stars.

Launched in 1977, Voyager was sent initially to study the outer planets, but then just kept on going.

Today, the veteran Nasa mission is almost 19 billion km (12 billion miles) from home.

This distance is so vast that it takes 17 hours now for a radio signal sent from Voyager to reach receivers here on Earth.

"This is really a key milestone that we'd been hoping we would reach when we started this project over 40 years ago - that we would get a spacecraft into interstellar space," said Prof Ed Stone, the chief scientist on the venture.

"Scientifically it's a major milestone, but also historically - this is one of those journeys of exploration like circumnavigating the globe for the first time or having a footprint on the Moon for the first time. This is the first time we've begun to explore the space between the stars," he told BBC News.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

The idealist in me wishes that humankind could pursue things like this with more enthusiasm and funding, rather than today's usual things -- bombing a new country or waiting for the Federal Reserve's next rounds of free money


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

james4beach said:


> The idealist in me wishes that humankind could pursue things like this with more enthusiasm and funding, rather than today's usual things -- bombing a new country or waiting for the Federal Reserve's next rounds of free money


+1


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## dubmac (Jan 9, 2011)

Don't forget the vinyl recording album that Voyageur is carrying as it's payload. I just hope some of those aliens on Kpax have a turntable to listen to ABBA, Elvis and others!


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

So far, this is following the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture quite nicely. Fellow geeks may remember that an alien intelligence found Voyager in deep space and decided to worship the little sucker. :biggrin:


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

dubmac said:


> Don't forget the vinyl recording album that Voyageur is carrying as it's payload. I just hope some of those aliens on Kpax have a turntable to listen to ABBA, Elvis and others!


 ... lol! Imagine SETI picks up Elvis' "Love Me Tender" ... Vogager 1 calling home! :biggrin:


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/

Pretty cool counter...amazing how fast it tabulates...


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

dubmac said:


> I just hope some of those aliens on Kpax have a turntable to listen to ABBA, Elvis and others!


Imagine their surprise when they show up, intrigued by our music, and are greeted with Miley Cyrus and Honey Boo Boo instead!


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

So Miley Cyrus and Honey Boo Boo will be our defense weapons against aliens? Is that what you're saying? If so, ouch! OTOH, maybe not, Cyrus and her rear-twerking might just do the job of telling them off ... :biggrin:


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

Not sure who Honey Boo Boo is but Miley should scare just about everything and every one away. We are safe.


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