17,930,435,000 km from home

[Jan Kyster]

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

She was in the news today, and thanks to the above link! - was able to time her... :hmmm:

Anyway, found the stopwatch and started it as the odometer crossed the 17930695000 km number.

At the 3 minute mark, this print screen of the odometer reading was taken:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z15/subject_rod/ScreenShots/Voyager.jpg


Which gives the following numbers:


start clock 17930695002 km
end clock 3 minutes 17930698270 km
travelled distance 3268 km = 65360 km/t = 35291 kts.
You go, girl! :rock:

Been travelling now for thirty-four years.
And still going strong. Recently phoned home: "Detecting a [particular kind of] hydrogen signal with a Lyman-alpha emission from the Milky Way."


Isn't that just heart-stopping, breaking news? :o

Read news story here: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/Voyagers-Detect-Missing-Signal-134918938.html

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/index.html



One of the finest ships ever! Fair wind, Voyager! :salute:

Oh! Now she passed 17930755000 km. With this pace, she'll be 20 billion kilometers from home in 3 and a half year from now...

[Platapus]

That is awesomely cool. :up:

Useless trivia: Voyager 1 and Pioneer 10 are the two most separated man made objects in the Universe

It is going to take Voyager 40,000 years to get close to the nearest star. :o

Space is kinda big. :yep:

[soopaman2]

What always had me in awe about the size of space is that the little red star in the constellation Orion (Betelgeuse) would take you 640 years to reach at 186,282 miles per second.

If it sat where our sun is (sol) it would reach beyond the asteroid belt.

And that is just our universe. There are alot others. The size is beyond human comprehension within our own solar system, much less other universes.

Also when you look up at a star, you are seeing it as it was years ago. For instance if you see a supernova from 300 light years away, you are looking at something that happened 300 years ago. For all we know the north star could have burned out 200 years ago.

Astronomy has always amazed me.:)

Awesome site, I actually bookmarked it.

[Gerald]

Well, to our sun it takes "only 8 light minutes"....:doh:

[joegrundman]

That is awesomely cool. :up:

Useless trivia: Voyager 1 and Pioneer 10 are the two most separated man made objects in the Universe

It is going to take Voyager 40,000 years to get close to the nearest star. :o

Space is kinda big. :yep:

it'll never reach another star. in about 150 years some guy is going to scoop it up in his Cobra MkIII and bring it back to Mars and flog it on ebay.

[Skybird]

Space. Subatomic particles. All emptiness, no solid substance anywhere. All what we perceive - a dance of reflections only: that's what we call "mind".

The greatest mystery: that something exists. Why does exist simply nothing? Why is there something at all? Single Big Bang - what was before, why did it happen, and where? Fluctuating universe - unlimited ammounts big bangs, since eons and eons - why?

We sit and think, heads in our hands, wondering. Who is the thinker? Where does he sit? What's it that he sees? Emptiness staring into emptiness, seeing all. We may send out probes and spaceships, we may go deeper and deeper into the subatomic world - could it be that we are the answer?

A dream within a dream, dreaming of that dream.

[TLAM Strike]

it'll never reach another star. in about 150 years some guy is going to scoop it up in his Cobra MkIII and bring it back to Mars and flog it on ebay.
Another possibility... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqoljJ0ees)

[Skybird]

Well, to our sun it takes "only 8 light minutes"....:doh:

No, it takes just 8 minutes. :O:

"Light minutes", light years, is a distance unit, not a time unit. :know:

[Platapus]

Well, to our sun it takes "only 8 light minutes"....:doh:

Once back when I was in the military we were sitting around playing trivial pursuit.

The question, one of my friends had was "how long does it take light to travel from the sun to the earth"

He answer, with complete seriousness, was "all night"

Since alcohol was involved, and the answer made sense, we gave it to him.

We figured it was one of those quantum mechanics things. :har:

[Gerald]

No, it takes just 8 minutes. :O:

"Light minutes", light years, is a distance unit, not a time unit. :know: i know...but you express yourself, in a way that a teacher would have done,:know: Since it takes about 8 minutes for the light from the Sun to reach us, then when we point at where we see the Sun, we are actually pointing to where it was 8 minutes ago. The average distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 150,000,000 kilometers. So lets do the math: (150,000,000km)/(300,000km/s) = (500s)/(60s/m) = 8.3 minutes
Keep in mind the distance between the earth and the sun is not constant, the orbit is elliptical so sometimes its longer and sometimes its shorter.Light given off by the Sun has traveled about 300,000 km. Even so, this light has not reached Earth yet. The distance from the Sun to Earth is about "8 light-minutes". Light-minutes sounds more like a time measurement instead of distance, but it means the distance that light travels in a period of 8 minutes. At a speed of 300,000 km/sec, light would travel about 149 million kilometers in 8 minutes.

[Gerald]

Once back when I was in the military we were sitting around playing trivial pursuit.

The question, one of my friends had was "how long does it take light to travel from the sun to the earth"

He answer, with complete seriousness, was "all night"

Since alcohol was involved, and the answer made sense, we gave it to him.

We figured it was one of those quantum mechanics things. :har: Well,Alcohol theory it is yours, to keep for yourself ;)

[Jimbuna]

it'll never reach another star. in about 150 years some guy is going to scoop it up in his Cobra MkIII and bring it back to Mars and flog it on ebay.

LOL :DL

[Skybird]

i know...but you express yourself, in a way that a teacher would have done,:know: Since it takes about 8 minutes for the light from the Sun to reach us, then when we point at where we see the Sun, we are actually pointing to where it was 8 minutes ago.
So the sun revolves around the Earth now? :O:

Since I assume you do not refer to the galactic parallax movement, or even just the movement of solar system inside this one galaxy, but refer to the relative position changes of Earth compared to the sun, it might be more precise to point out that the Earth has moved so and so far in its orbit around the Sun in those 8 minutes (speed the slower the more distant from the sun it currently is), and that we do see the sun in the state it was in 8 minutes ago. Eyes are a time machine, the more distant an object is that we look at, the longer backwards in time we watch. In principle, we never see with our eyes the real, immediate "present".

I can be a smartass, I know. :D

The average distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 150,000,000 kilometers. So lets do the math: (150,000,000km)/(300,000km/s) = (500s)/(60s/m) = 8.3 minutes
Keep in mind the distance between the earth and the sun is not constant, the orbit is elliptical so sometimes its longer and sometimes its shorter.Light given off by the Sun has traveled about 300,000 km. Even so, this light has not reached Earth yet. The distance from the Sun to Earth is about "8 light-minutes". Light-minutes sounds more like a time measurement instead of distance, but it means the distance that light travels in a period of 8 minutes. At a speed of 300,000 km/sec, light would travel about 149 million kilometers in 8 minutes.

Which is a statement about distance, as I said, and still not about time taken. :D

[Gerald]

So the sun revolves around the Earth now? :O:

Since I assume you do not refer to the galactic parallax movement, or even just the movement of solar system inside this one galaxy, but refer to the relative position changes of Earth compared to the sun, it might be more precise to point out that the Earth has moved so and so far in its orbit around the Sun in those 8 minutes (speed the slower the more distant from the sun it currently is), and that we do see the sun in the state it was in 8 minutes ago. Eyes are a time machine, the more distant an object is that we look at, the longer backwards in time we watch. In principle, we never see with our eyes the real, immediate "present".

I can be a smartass, I know. :D



Which is a statement about distance, as I said, and still not about time taken. :DI hope ya have plenty of time, this could take some time...:DL.....I be back :cool:

[Skybird]

I hope ya have plenty of time, this could take some time...:DL.....I be back :cool:

No need to spend time on it, Vendor! Believe me - lightyears (ly) or lightdays or lightseconds are used as a distance unit in any astronomical science book you could think of. It is established nomenclatura. No need to debate anything there! ;)

[Gerald]

No need to spend time on it, Vendor! Believe me - lightyears (ly) or lightdays or lightseconds are used as a distance unit in any astronomical science book you could think of. It is established nomenclatura. No need to debate anything there! ;) My latter comment was more directed as a joke, I have the picture clear....and understand the theoretical part, without being "smartass" :up:

[Rhodes]

Another possibility... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqoljJ0ees)

Here's another:

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/2932/vger1.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/535/vger1.jpg/)

[TLAM Strike]

...and understand the theoretical part, without being "smartass" :up:
Better a Smartass than a Dumbass. :03:

[Gerald]

Better a Smartass than a Dumbass. :03: :haha:

[Gargamel]

I like how they discovered the anomaly a while back, where the voyager probes were not where they were supposed to be. Theories abounded about how the current theories on solar winds werre wrong, or there was an unseen border force slowing the craft.

Turned out the nuclear power cells were heating the leading edges of the craft a little more than the trailing ones, and that very slight radiation of energy slowed the craft enough to have physicists pulling their hair out for years. Apparently it took some deep computer modelling to figure it out.

Space.com probably has some good links on it.

[Pisces]

Ok, I have to be the real smartass now. It only takes light 8 minutes to go from the SURFACE of the sun to go to the earth. However, from photon creation in the core of the sun, to the the surface of the sun it is supposed to take hundred thousands of years before it get's there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun#Core

:O:

[TLAM Strike]

Ok, I have to be the real smartass now. It only takes light 8 minutes to go from the SURFACE of the sun to go to the earth. However, from photon creation in the core of the sun, to the the surface of the sun it is supposed to take hundred thousands of years before it get's there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun#Core

:O:

However Neutrinos travel the distance in 8 minutes. They do not go bouncing around in the sun's core before finding an exit.

So if you ever detect a sharp decrease in Neutrinos from the sun its time to pack up and leave: you only got a few hundred thousand years before the sun goes Red Giant on you. :know:

[Sailor Steve]

Space. Subatomic particles. All emptiness, no solid substance anywhere. All what we perceive - a dance of reflections only: that's what we call "mind".

The greatest mystery: that something exists. Why does exist simply nothing? Why is there something at all? Single Big Bang - what was before, why did it happen, and where? Fluctuating universe - unlimited ammounts big bangs, since eons and eons - why?

We sit and think, heads in our hands, wondering. Who is the thinker? Where does he sit? What's it that he sees? Emptiness staring into emptiness, seeing all. We may send out probes and spaceships, we may go deeper and deeper into the subatomic world - could it be that we are the answer?

A dream within a dream, dreaming of that dream.
You're either insane or soon will be. I like that; it makes me feel less alone.

Better a Smartass than a Dumbass. :03:
Unfortunately the two are often one and the same.

Ok, I have to be the real smartass now. It only takes light 8 minutes to go from the SURFACE of the sun to go to the earth. However, from photon creation in the core of the sun, to the the surface of the sun it is supposed to take hundred thousands of years before it get's there.
But how long does it take that light to reach the core of the earth? Core to core is irrelevant. :O:

[Sammi79]

it'll never reach another star. in about 150 years some guy is going to scoop it up in his Cobra MkIII and bring it back to Mars and flog it on ebay.

I miss Elite. Badly. Elite II was IMHO as good as computer gaming ever got. Only graphics have improved since then.

That is one game in severe need of bringing up to date with modern hardware.

[frau kaleun]

Another possibility... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqoljJ0ees)

Here's another:

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/2932/vger1.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/535/vger1.jpg/)


I think I like this one best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwcJXUWXMTI&feature=player_embedded

[Gerald]

Nice one,:sunny:

[TLAM Strike]

I think I like this one best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwcJXUWXMTI&feature=player_embedded


I LOLed when the Red Dwarf showed up... :haha:

That one is a download... :yeah:

[Sailor Steve]

I think I like this one best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwcJXUWXMTI&feature=player_embedded
:rotfl2: Saved by The Doctor! :rock:

[TLAM Strike]

:rotfl2: Saved by The Doctor! :rock:

The First Doctor. :har:

[Sailor Steve]

The First Doctor. :har:
I had to go back and freeze-frame it. I thought it was hard to tell, but you're probably right.

[TLAM Strike]

I had to go back and freeze-frame it. I thought it was hard to tell, but you're probably right.

Looks like him to me. He was the only one with hair like that as I recall...

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8438/tumblrlms7kaokb31qfoz3s.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2632/vlcsnap00116.jpg

[Rhodes]

Great video Frau!:yeah:

Yes, and also this hat.
http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/9175/hartnell11.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/848/hartnell11.jpg/)
Or the drawing has the hat or it's his hair.

[frau kaleun]

Every time I watch it I see another cool reference. Just now noticed the Great A-Tuin "swimming" by with four elephants on his back supporting the Discworld. :rock:

[Jan Kyster]

Space. Subatomic particles. All emptiness, no solid substance... etc.You're either insane or soon will be...Nah, it's only aftermath of the big bang. He just needs to breathe a bit.


I think I like this one best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwcJXUWXMTI&feature=player_embeddedBrilliant stuff! Thanks a lot! :up:

That sweet little thing! :rotfl2:

[Takeda Shingen]

Another possibility... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqoljJ0ees)

They've mastered interstellar travel, spaceship cloaking and warp technology all while their combat screens look like something on an Apple II. :haha:

[Rhodes]

They've mastered interstellar travel, spaceship cloaking and warp technology all while their combat screens look like something on an Apple II. :haha:

Don't you know that retro style is used in far future civilizations? Almost every one uses it.

[frau kaleun]

http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/11/12/250b6ef9-6bb1-453c-865f-abbb950b28ed.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

Yes, and also this hat.
I thought something looked odd in the cartoon. I think you're right, and it was the hat I wasn't recognizing.

I still watch an episode of the original every day.

[TLAM Strike]

Every time I watch it I see another cool reference.
I had to watch it a second time before I noticed this one.
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/6879/vlcsnap00117.jpg

... if the creator didn't put that one in I would have pay him a visit and "get me an ear"...

[Sailor Steve]

Shiny! :sunny: