Latest news with #Voyager2
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Economic Times
Voyager hits a 'Wall of Fire': NASA probe finds a furnace at the edge of the solar system
Voyager 1 has detected a shell of superheated plasma far beyond Pluto—offering a direct look at where the Sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins. From nearly 24 billion kilometres away, NASA's ageing Voyager 1 has sent back a signal confirming one of the most extreme discoveries yet: a narrow region near the heliopause where plasma has been heated to an astonishing 30,000 to 50,000 Kelvin. This marks the latest in a string of insights from the 48-year-old spacecraft. The heliopause, which defines the outer edge of the Sun's protective bubble known as the heliosphere, is where solar wind slams into material from interstellar space. It's not a wall in the traditional sense—but data show a sharp, localised zone of extreme discovery began with a spike in temperature data—despite the fact that Voyager 1's original plasma detector had failed years two other instruments still running—one monitoring cosmic ray hits, the other measuring the local magnetic field—spotted the clues. Solar wind ions dropped sharply. Meanwhile, cosmic ray counts surged and the magnetic field began to bend. That's when scientists realised what they were seeing. Researchers processed the data and saw evidence of a hot plasma shell, possibly just 1 astronomical unit thick. Hours later, Voyager 2—following its own path—picked up the same pattern, confirming the phenomenon wasn't a fluke.'It's a narrow, searing frontier,' said NASA Heliophysics scientists. And the spacecraft sailed right through no flame out there. No oxygen to feed one. But the searing temperature comes from the collision of the supersonic solar wind crashes into the slower-moving interstellar medium, magnetic turbulence and compression force particles into a higher energy state. That's where the heat comes from—particles zipping around at extreme speeds in a vacuum barely dense enough to warm short: it's a cosmic blast furnace, but with so little matter that Voyager's hull doesn't heat up.'She's been driving for five decades and just found the hottest rest stop in the universe,' quipped Suzanne Dodd, Voyager's flight director, after the data appeared on her Pasadena of the biggest surprises wasn't the heat—but the alignment of magnetic expected the magnetic field outside the heliopause to change direction entirely. But both Voyager probes have found that the magnetic field beyond the boundary runs almost parallel to the one within the heliosphere. NASA explained: 'An observation by Voyager 2's magnetic field instrument confirms a surprising result from Voyager 1: The magnetic field in the region just beyond the heliopause is parallel to the magnetic field inside the heliosphere.' That's upended existing models of the Sun's protective bubble. It suggests the heliosphere may be more closely connected to the galaxy's magnetic environment than previously assumed—and that our cosmic shielding from high-energy radiation might work in ways still not fully has important implications for protecting Earth and for long-duration human engineers remain in awe that Voyager 1 still data trickles in at just 160 bits per second. It takes 22 hours for a single message to arrive back at Earth's Deep Space Network.'That silence after you send a command is the longest coffee break imaginable,' said Todd Barber, Voyager systems ageing plutonium battery can now only support a few instruments. But NASA has juggled power usage carefully to keep the most valuable sensors running. Even at 48 years old, the probe continues to report back from the is already planning the next step. In 2026, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) will launch to observe the heliopause from within. It aims to capture the same plasma flows that Voyager just measured, but with modern instruments and clearer further ahead is a proposed Interstellar Probe mission, designed to reach 400 AU in 50 years. Its goal? Map this fiery region—this 'invisible wall of fire'—in unprecedented of this future planning leans on Voyager's current 1 crossed into interstellar space on 25 August 2012. Its twin, Voyager 2, followed in 2018. But even now, these machines keep pushing the boundaries of what humanity knows about the edge of its own solar findings aren't just scientific curiosities. They help shape real-world plans to shield astronauts from cosmic radiation and inform how Earth's magnetic defences another dozen years, the last of Voyager 1's instruments may fall silent. But its final contribution—a message from the solar system's burning edge—might be its most now, it's still out there. Floating. Listening. Sending home the secrets of the stars.
National Geographic
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
The Golden Records tell the story of Earth. Will alien worlds ever find them?
In 1977, NASA launched two 12-inch gold-plated copper disks filled with the sounds of children's laughter, heartbeats, and bird calls. Is their time in space running out? The Golden Record carried by Voyager 1 and 2. Photographs of Jupiter by Voyager 1 on March 24, 1979 and Uranus by Voyager 2 on January 24, 1986. Photo Illustration by Jesse Barber, National Geographic; Image Sources from Nat Geo Image Collection, NASA/JPL In 1977, NASA launched Voyagers 1 and 2 from Cape Canaveral, Florida into space to embark on a grand tour of the far reaches of our solar system. Mounted on board each probe was a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk—a cosmic 'message in a bottle' engraved with sights, sounds, and depictions of life on Earth, collectively known as the Golden Records—on the slim chance some far-off alien civilization might discover them. And in Disney and Pixar's animated film Elio, in theaters June 20, that's exactly what happens when main character Elio encounters aliens who believe he is Earth's leader. 'It's meant to be a sort of a letter of introduction to any culture who might find the probe,' says Bethany Ehlmann, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology and a 2013 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, of the real-life Golden Records. Though these gilded greetings were partly intended for an alien audience, they mostly served as a message to humans and our tiny blue marble planet. 'It's a love letter to Earth and all that we have come through to get to the point where we could send these probes to understand our solar system.' But where are the Golden Records now—and how much longer are they intended to last in space? We spoke to the experts, including Ehlmann, to find out. When tasked with figuring out what to include in the intergalactic mixtape aboard the Voyager probes, renowned astronomer Carl Sagan assembled a team of scientists, artists, and engineers. For a true depiction of life on Earth aboard humankind's most distant physical emissary, the team included a variety of sounds associated with daily life and nature, like bird calls, humpback whale songs, children's laughter, footsteps, heartbeats, brain wave scans, and a kiss. There are also 90 minutes of music contained on the disk, including Western classical compositions from Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Stravinsky, Senegalese percussion music, Australian Aboriginal songs, and Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode.' (The close of cosmos, and golden voices in the stars.) The carefully thought-out record, designed to endure space travel for billions of years, also consists of spoken greetings in 55 modern and ancient languages, as well as 115 analog-encoded photographs of Earth and its inhabitants. Engraved on the cover of these records is a map to help find one's way to Earth relative to nearby known, flashing, dense cores of stars called pulsars. There are etched diagrams of a hydrogen atom—the most common element in the universe—and instructions for playing each record. Each disk is enclosed in a protective, gold-plated aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle to play it. "The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space," Sagan, leader of the Voyager Golden Record project, wrote. "But the launching of this 'bottle' into the cosmic 'ocean' says something very hopeful about life on this planet." (Dear Voyagers: How your billion-year journey carries true love.) A far-out cosmic road trip Over the years, the Voyager probes flew by the solar system's most distant four planets at a rate of 35,000 miles per hour, sending back detailed views of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their moons. Voyager 2 flying by Uranus and Neptune is the only time humanity has seen these worlds up close. After completing their primary missions to collectively fly by all four outer planets in 1989, the twin probes kept chugging along through the vast outer reaches of the solar system. Voyager 1 and 2 exited the solar system and entered interstellar space in 2012 and 2018, respectively. At more than 15 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 has become the most distant human-made object in space. Voyager 2, in second place, is now about 13 billion miles away. The interstellar environment they're in contains a stew of cosmic gas, dust, and rays. The twin Voyager probes are equipped with radiation-resistant parts, but the onslaught of charged particles in their current neck of the woods still pose a threat to their aging electronics. Both Voyager spacecrafts are still collecting and sending back data, updating humans on their intergalactic adventures, albeit slowly—it takes nearly 20 hours for these signals to reach Earth, given the immense distance they need to travel. We're now reaching the end of the Voyager missions, as the twin probes' plutonium power supplies are running out of juice. The Voyager team is attempting to extend their lifetime for as long as they can by shutting down non-essential instruments like heaters to conserve power. 'More than 47 years into the mission, there's very little power left,' says Suzanne "Suzy" Dodd, the current project manager for the Voyager missions. 'The goal of the mission is to get it to 50 years.' Even after the probe's science mission ends, though, the Golden Records will keep quietly drifting further and further into the cosmic abyss, likely for millions and even billions of years.'Long after we've lost communications with the spacecraft, it'll still be traveling with this record—a time capsule,' Dodd says. She remarks that it's exciting 'to think about a little piece of us, a little piece of what Earth and humanity is all about, traveling around the center of our galaxy to be found by whatever being might be out there.' But, as Dodd points out, there are enormous physical and chronological distances involved. It's going to take around 40,000 years for the probes to drift into the vicinity of any other star system, when Voyager 1 will pass within 1.6 light-years of the star Gliese 445. Around the same time, Voyager 2 will be within 1.7 light-years of the star Ross 248. The legacy of the Golden Records The Golden Records have left a huge cosmic impact. According to Ehlmann, most spacecrafts that followed the Voyager mission included some sort of message from our Earthly abode. 'People sometimes think of science as a cold and calculating endeavor, but really it's the expression of curiosity and awe,' she says. 'It's an ability to leave your mark in the universe.' And almost fifty years after they first took flight, our pair of plucky robot emissaries to the stars continues embarking on the deepest journey ever into space. 'Who knows? The Voyager probes, a million years from now, may end up in some alien museum,' Ehlmann says. 'It's exciting to imagine.' Disney and Pixar's "Elio" is in theaters June 20, 2025. Get tickets now.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Voyager hits a 'Wall of Fire': NASA probe finds a furnace at the edge of the solar system
Voyager 1 has detected a shell of superheated plasma far beyond Pluto—offering a direct look at where the Sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins. From nearly 24 billion kilometres away, NASA 's ageing Voyager 1 has sent back a signal confirming one of the most extreme discoveries yet: a narrow region near the heliopause where plasma has been heated to an astonishing 30,000 to 50,000 Kelvin. This marks the latest in a string of insights from the 48-year-old spacecraft. The heliopause, which defines the outer edge of the Sun's protective bubble known as the heliosphere, is where solar wind slams into material from interstellar space. It's not a wall in the traditional sense—but data show a sharp, localised zone of extreme temperatures. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Private Jet - The Prices May Surprise You! Private Jet I Search Ads Learn More Undo An unexpected blaze in the cosmic borderlands The discovery began with a spike in temperature data—despite the fact that Voyager 1's original plasma detector had failed years ago. Instead, two other instruments still running—one monitoring cosmic ray hits, the other measuring the local magnetic field—spotted the clues. Solar wind ions dropped sharply. Meanwhile, cosmic ray counts surged and the magnetic field began to bend. That's when scientists realised what they were seeing. Live Events Researchers processed the data and saw evidence of a hot plasma shell, possibly just 1 astronomical unit thick. Hours later, Voyager 2—following its own path—picked up the same pattern, confirming the phenomenon wasn't a fluke. 'It's a narrow, searing frontier,' said NASA Heliophysics scientists. And the spacecraft sailed right through it. What fuels a fire where nothing burns? There's no flame out there. No oxygen to feed one. But the searing temperature comes from the collision of forces. As the supersonic solar wind crashes into the slower-moving interstellar medium, magnetic turbulence and compression force particles into a higher energy state. That's where the heat comes from—particles zipping around at extreme speeds in a vacuum barely dense enough to warm aluminium. In short: it's a cosmic blast furnace, but with so little matter that Voyager's hull doesn't heat up. 'She's been driving for five decades and just found the hottest rest stop in the universe,' quipped Suzanne Dodd, Voyager's flight director, after the data appeared on her Pasadena monitor. A magnetic surprise beyond the Sun's reach One of the biggest surprises wasn't the heat—but the alignment of magnetic fields . Scientists expected the magnetic field outside the heliopause to change direction entirely. But both Voyager probes have found that the magnetic field beyond the boundary runs almost parallel to the one within the heliosphere. NASA explained: 'An observation by Voyager 2 's magnetic field instrument confirms a surprising result from Voyager 1: The magnetic field in the region just beyond the heliopause is parallel to the magnetic field inside the heliosphere.' That's upended existing models of the Sun's protective bubble. It suggests the heliosphere may be more closely connected to the galaxy's magnetic environment than previously assumed—and that our cosmic shielding from high-energy radiation might work in ways still not fully understood. This has important implications for protecting Earth and for long-duration human spaceflight. The hottest postcard in Space NASA's engineers remain in awe that Voyager 1 still works. The data trickles in at just 160 bits per second. It takes 22 hours for a single message to arrive back at Earth's Deep Space Network. 'That silence after you send a command is the longest coffee break imaginable,' said Todd Barber, Voyager systems engineer. Voyager's ageing plutonium battery can now only support a few instruments. But NASA has juggled power usage carefully to keep the most valuable sensors running. Even at 48 years old, the probe continues to report back from the unknown. Next up: Mapping the edge in high definition NASA is already planning the next step. In 2026, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) will launch to observe the heliopause from within. It aims to capture the same plasma flows that Voyager just measured, but with modern instruments and clearer resolution. Even further ahead is a proposed Interstellar Probe mission, designed to reach 400 AU in 50 years. Its goal? Map this fiery region—this 'invisible wall of fire'—in unprecedented detail. All of this future planning leans on Voyager's current discoveries. Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space on 25 August 2012. Its twin, Voyager 2, followed in 2018. But even now, these machines keep pushing the boundaries of what humanity knows about the edge of its own solar neighbourhood. Their findings aren't just scientific curiosities. They help shape real-world plans to shield astronauts from cosmic radiation and inform how Earth's magnetic defences operate. In another dozen years, the last of Voyager 1's instruments may fall silent. But its final contribution—a message from the solar system's burning edge—might be its most important. For now, it's still out there. Floating. Listening. Sending home the secrets of the stars.
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Scientists uncover new details about Uranus' atmosphere, strange seasons
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, owes its pale blue-green in colour to its atmosphere which absorbs the red wavelengths of sunlight, according to a new study. The study was published by a research group comprising scientists from the University of Arizona in the US as well as other institutions. It sheds light on the atmospheric composition and complex dynamics governing the mystery planet. The researchers were able to provide new information about Uranus after analysing images of the planet captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope over the last 20 years. The Hubble images of Uranus were taken between 2002 and 2022. As per the study, Uranus' atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, along with small amounts of methane as well as minute quantities of water and ammonia. Uranus is located between Saturn and Neptune. As the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus remains one of the least understood planets in our solar system which is why the new research study may be significant. Scientists who authored the study also provided more information about seasonal changes on the planet. Unlike other planets, Uranus' axis of rotation is nearly parallel to its orbital plane. It is likely that Uranus collided with an Earth-sized object, which might be the reason why it is said to be rotating in an 'overturned' position. As a result, it takes 84 years for the planet to complete one revolution around the Sun. This means that the surface of the planet gets sunshine for 42 years and the next 42-year-period is dark. Over the course of the 20-year-long study, researchers were able to observe only a part of the seasonal change of Uranus' atmosphere. The research builds on existing information about Uranus, like the fact that the planet is composed mainly of water and ammonia ice. It is approximately 51,000 kilometres in diameter, making Uranus four times bigger than the Earth with a mass that is 15 times greater than that of Earth's. Uranus also has 13 rings and 28 moons. NASA's Voyager 2 is the only space probe mission that has explored the planet by conducting a flyby in January 1986. However, the group of scientists behind the new study said that they will continue to observe Uranus and gather more information on seasonal changes in its polar regions.
WIRED
27-05-2025
- Science
- WIRED
A New Study Reveals the Makeup of Uranus' Atmosphere
May 27, 2025 5:00 AM Based on 20 years of observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, new research sheds light on one of the solar system's most mysterious planets. This image of Uranus was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in August 2005 using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). You can see the planet's beautiful rings. PHOTOGRAPH: NASA/ESA/M. SHOWALTER (SETI INSTITUTE) Uranus, the seventh planet in the solar system, located between Saturn and Neptune, has long been a mystery. But by analyzing observations made by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope over a 20-year period, a research team from the University of Arizona and other institutions has provided new insights into the composition and dynamics of the planet's atmosphere. Information about Uranus is limited. What we know is that the planet is composed mainly of water and ammonia ice, its diameter is about 51,000 kilometers, about four times that of the Earth, and its mass is about 15 times greater than Earth's. Uranus also has 13 rings and 28 satellites. In January 1986, NASA's Voyager 2 space probe successfully completed what has been, to date, the only exploration of the planet, conducting a flyby as part of its mission to study the outer planets of the solar system. This image of Uranus was taken by NASA's Voyager 2 space probe in January 1986. PHOTOGRAPH: NASA/JPL But thanks to this new research, we now know a little more about this icy giant. According to the research, which assessed Hubble images take between 2002 and 2022, the main components of Uranus' atmosphere are hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane and very small amounts of water and ammonia. Uranus appears pale blue-green because methane absorbs the red component of sunlight. This image of Uranus, taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, shows nine of the planet's 28 satellites and its rings. PHOTOGRAPH: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI The research has also shed light on the planet's seasons. Unlike all of the other planets in the solar system, Uranus' axis of rotation is almost parallel to its orbital plane. For this reason, Uranus is said to be orbiting in an 'overturned' position, as shown in the picture below. It is speculated that this may be due to a collision with an Earth-sized object in the past. Uranus orbiting the sun. It can be seen that Uranus' axis of rotation is almost parallel to its orbital plane. ILLUSTRATION: NASA/ESA/A. FEILD (STSCI) The planet's orbital period is about 84 years, which means that, for a specific point on the surface, the period when the sun shines (some of spring, summer, and some of fall) lasts about 42 years, and the period when the sun does not shine (some of fall, winter, and some of spring) lasts for about 42 years as well. In this study, the research team spent 20 years observing the seasons. These images of Uranus were taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope using its Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). PHOTOGRAPH: NASA/ESA/ERICH KARKOSCHKA (LPL) Over that period, the research team watched as the south polar region darkened going into winter and the north polar region brightened as summer approached. By observing the planet at four different points in time, years apart, they could see how the gradual shifting of the seasons affected the planet. The top row shows how the planet appeared when viewing it with just visible light. The second row from the top is a pseudo-color image based on visible-light and near-infrared observations. Green indicates less methane in the atmosphere than blue, and red indicates the absence of methane. The lower levels of atmospheric methane at the poles (which, remember, are on the planet's sides rather than its top and bottom) indicate that there is little seasonal variation in methane levels. In the left-most image on this row, the green-colored south pole is moving into darkness. In the other three images, the green, lower-methane region of the north pole can be seen coming into view. (The fourth row shows the same lack of methane variation, but without coloration.) But what about the third row? This shows estimates of aerosol abundance, using visible light and infrared images that haven't been colored. The light areas are cloudy with high aerosol abundance, and the dark areas are clear with low aerosol abundance. What is noteworthy in these images is that there is seasonal variation. The arctic region was clear at the beginning of spring (in 2002), but became cloudy as summer progressed (2012 through 2022). Conversely, the antarctic region appears to have cleared as fall progressed into winter. The team believes that these seasonal changes are evidence that sunlight changes levels of aerosol mist on the planet. Although the results of this study cover a long 20-year period, this still only reflects one period of seasonal change in Uranus' atmosphere. The research team will continue to observe Uranus as the polar regions move into news seasons, to gather more data. This story originally appeared on WIRED Japan and has been translated from Japanese.
