Each Voyagers’ cameras have been turned off, however neither craft would see a lot even when they had been nonetheless on.
This simulated view exhibits Voyager 1’s view again by way of the photo voltaic system, making a “household portrait” of the planets: Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These had been the final photographs taken by the craft, on Feb. 14, 1990, earlier than its digicam was shut off to protect energy. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Are both of the Voyager spacecraft able to taking an image of our photo voltaic system from their present interstellar areas?
Jake Cunningham
Eugene, Oregon
No, however let’s discuss how the spacecraft that after dazzled scientists and the general public alike with photographs of our photo voltaic system got here to this state.
To protect energy and reminiscence, mission operators turned off all of the Voyager cameras between late 1989 and early 1990, after they had wrapped up their tour of the photo voltaic system. Voyager 1 took the final image, affectionately generally known as the photo voltaic system household portrait, on Feb. 14, 1990. Whereas the spacecraft are nonetheless functioning at this time, most of their different devices have additionally been turned off for a similar causes. Plus, within the depths of interstellar area, there merely isn’t a lot to look at.
The spacecraft nonetheless have three functioning devices every, constructed to measure cosmic rays, magnetic fields, charged particles, and plasma waves — the science that’s useful in in any other case empty area. A separate plasma science instrument failed on Voyager 1 in 1980 and was turned off in 2007, but it surely remained engaged on Voyager 2 till operators turned it off in October 2024. Mission operators anticipate the crafts to ship a minimum of engineering knowledge again till 2036.
NASA factors out that even when Mission Management might flip the cameras again on, the computer systems and software program that after would have analyzed the information merely don’t exist anymore. Moreover, the years of radiation and chilly publicity have in all probability broken the cameras. Added to that, the Voyagers’ software program is almost 50 years outdated, and operators are extraordinarily cautious about sending any indicators to the spacecraft, cautious of inducing any errors within the antiquated system.
And if the cameras had been turned on, the darkish of area means they wouldn’t picture something specifically. The cameras had been constructed to take photos of huge planets and their moons that gleamed within the Solar’s mild as Voyager buzzed by. The spacecraft don’t have telescopes, so something they see can be merely a dim level of sunshine.
To place it in perspective, Saturn orbits at a distance of 9.5 astronomical items (AU, the place 1 AU is the typical distance between Earth and the Solar of 93 million miles [150 million kilometers]). Voyager 2 (the nearer of the dual spacecraft), is at the moment 140 AU from the Solar, that means you might be 16 instances nearer to Saturn than Voyager is.
So even when they may take an image, your cellphone might take a a lot better one. What a distinction time and distance make!
Korey Haynes
Contributing Editor
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