The Space Thread

Voyager I fires up trajectory correction thrusters for first time in 37 years.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/us/voyager-1-thrusters-fired-first-time-since-1980/index.html

Very cool, hadn't heard about that.

 

The most interesting part was in a mere 40,000 years they'll be nearing stars in constellations!?! I mean it makes sense but I guess I never thought about them actually coming even remotely close to anything ever again. That is, if they don't get intercepted before then... :D

earth and moon. Thanks OSIRIS-REx

 

when i learned that new horizons would find some kuiper belt object to check out after pluto, i figured it wouldn't likely happen to be a very close fly-by. with the recent announcements about how it will be new years day 2019, i looked into how close the fly-by will be, and it will be 3 times closer than the fly-by with pluto! 

 

the photos from the fly-by with pluto are some of the best space photos.

 

hype

Edited January 7, 2018 by very honest

Rock From Another Star System Is Unlike Anything Seen Before

 

venus as photographed by the japanese spacecraft akatsuki (venus climate orbiter)

 

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/akatsukis-amazing-views-of-venus/

 

https://darts.jaxa.jp/planet/project/akatsuki/

so pretty

we need aliens to come and school us

i think its time for some simulations of stars getting torn apart by black holes

 

 

 

 

gas cloud, but still:

 

  On 12/3/2017 at 8:30 AM, Rubin Farr said:

Voyager I fires up trajectory correction thrusters for first time in 37 years.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/us/voyager-1-thrusters-fired-first-time-since-1980/index.html

i feel so dumb sometimes reading these news... first they say they'll be able to extend the life of the spacecraft by 2 or 3 years and then they say that in approximately 40.000 years the same spacecraft will be reaching an obscure star... i don't get it... which one is it? what do they mean by extending the life of the spacecraft?

 

"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years."

 

"It is expected that in the year 40,272, Voyager 1 will come within 1.7 light years of an obscure star in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Bear or Little Dipper)."

voyager isn't going to explode when it runs out of fuel.

  On 2/18/2018 at 7:05 PM, THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON said:

 

  On 12/3/2017 at 8:30 AM, Rubin Farr said:

Voyager I fires up trajectory correction thrusters for first time in 37 years.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/us/voyager-1-thrusters-fired-first-time-since-1980/index.html

i feel so dumb sometimes reading these news... first they say they'll be able to extend the life of the spacecraft by 2 or 3 years and then they say that in approximately 40.000 years the same spacecraft will be reaching an obscure star... i don't get it... which one is it? what do they mean by extending the life of the spacecraft?

 

"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years."

 

"It is expected that in the year 40,272, Voyager 1 will come within 1.7 light years of an obscure star in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Bear or Little Dipper)."

 

 

It only needs boosters if it somehow falls off course. It doesn't need to burn fuel to go forward, since there isn't enough gravity in deep space to slow it down. Over a long enough timeline, what little gravity (and space weather) there is may send it off course and it uses the boosters to correct its trajectory.

 

They calculate it to come within 1.7 light years of that star because over that period of time something will inevitably fuck up.

  On 2/19/2018 at 12:48 AM, Braintree said:

It only needs boosters if it somehow falls off course. It doesn't need to burn fuel to go forward, since there isn't enough gravity in deep space to slow it down. Over a long enough timeline, what little gravity (and space weather) there is may send it off course and it uses the boosters to correct its trajectory.

They calculate it to come within 1.7 light years of that star because over that period of time something will inevitably fuck up.

so when they say that they'll be able to extend its life by 2 or 3 years what they really mean is that they'll be able to control it, firing up its trajectory correction thrusters, for more 2 or 3 years, is that it? after that, it stays adrift, right? Edited February 19, 2018 by THIS IS MICHAEL JACKSON

the thrusters are just used to keep the antenna oriented back to earth.

  On 2/19/2018 at 1:54 AM, caze said:

the thrusters are just used to keep the antenna oriented back to earth.

"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years."

 

so what do they mean by extend the life of said spacecraft? extend the period of time in which they'll be able to maintain the antenna oriented back to earth?

If it falls off course we won't be able to receive the data. "Extend the life" just means we'll be able to receive data from it. Otherwise it's useless, since it's never coming back.

  On 2/19/2018 at 3:42 AM, Braintree said:

If it falls off course we won't be able to receive the data. "Extend the life" just means we'll be able to receive data from it. Otherwise it's useless, since it's never coming back.

thank god i finally understood it, thanks for your patience, i truly mean it, i know i can be a pain in the ass sometimes...

 

Proctor Crater

Edited March 5, 2018 by very honest

Aliens don't want to touch us with a 10 light year pole, and I don't blame them!

Here's a GIF of images taken by the Philae lander sent by the ESA to land on comet 67P:

More info here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2167224-amazing-gif-shows-dust-and-cosmic-rays-raining-down-on-comet-67p/

now thats idm.

incredible!

awsm

  On 4/25/2018 at 8:38 PM, Joyrex said:

Here's a GIF of images taken by the Philae lander sent by the ESA to land on comet 67P:

More info here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2167224-amazing-gif-shows-dust-and-cosmic-rays-raining-down-on-comet-67p/

 

 

 

i can imagine this guy running across there

 

Edited April 25, 2018 by yek

*would be honestly surprised if no one has shopped an alien of some sort in there yet.

 

GIF is fucking awesome tho Joyrex thanks.