voyager1 nears interstellar space

[Gomar]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/...stellar-space/


The graphic apparently shows the solar system moving right to left. Is that so? I know the galaxy is rotating
around the center, but right/left is determined on if you are on top of or beneath the galaxy looking up.
Also, are the probes flying faster than the rotation? I mean, if they also fly right to left, then how can they
escape out of the solar system? Why not set the probes to fly off left to right, opposite direction, so as
to meet up with the spiral arm after ours, thereby shortening the trip?

Or, was the intent to fly out of the galaxy, not to travel to a star within the galaxy?

[antoniseb]

[url]... Or, was the intent to fly out of the galaxy, not to travel to a star within the galaxy?

Let me address the last question first. There is no way for these probes to leave the galaxy. They would need to be going 500-1000 miles a second faster than they are (relative to us) to be able to escape the gravity of the Milky Way. I think they're going about 4 miles a second.

the solar system moving right to left. Is that so?

The particulars of which direction is right and which direction is left were left to the artist. The Sun is moving with respect to the center of the galaxy... that's just an orbit. It is also moving with respect to the local medium, and some of the newer stars in this area... THAT is the movement that is causing the bow shock and wake.

so as to meet up with the spiral arm after ours, thereby shortening the trip?

I'm not sure what trip you're talking about. Voyager 1 is powered by heat from the radioactive decay of something with an 88 year half-life. It will probably be cold and powerless before it gets further than the aphelion of Sedna. Reporting back from the Oort cloud, or from the one-light-year milestone are not possible.

[ravens_cry]

They won't not be able to report back, but whoever finds them might.
Yeah, it's a way, way, longshot, but, who knows?

[NEOWatcher]

Or, was the intent to fly out of the galaxy, not to travel to a star within the galaxy?

Neither. The intent was only to visit some planets.
Even Uranus and Neptune were just bonuses (as mentioned in the article).

Even though interstellar travel was expected because of the speed, it had nothing to do with "intent".

ETA:
I also want to point out the real news here.

It's been "nearing interstellar space" for many years now in the news. But; new readings indicate a far more rapid transition than has been happening previously.

[Jens]

I mean, if they also fly right to left, then how can they
escape out of the solar system?

I think you have some misconceptions about the distances involved and how the mechanics work. You might read up a bit on the shape of the solar system, etc. I think basically though that to leave the solar system, the single most important factor (beyond the orbital mechanics) is that you want to go to the place where the distance to interstellar space is the shortest. And that's the bow (in front of where the solar system is moving). If you go backward, there's a long tail to get through. So if you want to get to interstellar space quickly, go forward.

[mapguy]

On heavens-above.com, you can monitor the position of various probes leaving the solar system...
SolarEscapePic.png
...but if I compare the orbit of Neptune in that diagram to the orbit of Neptune in this Wikipedia diagram illustrating Sedna's orbit...
220px-Sedna_orbit.svg.png
...I realize that the scattered disc must extend way out beyond the heliopause, correct? (I think antoniseb referred to that in his reply.)

So when the article says Voyager is "on the cusp of leaving the solar system" and is "poised to cross the boundary into interstellar space", is that overstating things a bit? I mean, it sounds like for a long while yet, Voyager will still be travelling through a region of space that's under the influence of the Sun's gravity.

[Swift]

So when the article says Voyager is "on the cusp of leaving the solar system" and is "poised to cross the boundary into interstellar space", is that overstating things a bit? I mean, it sounds like for a long while yet, Voyager will still be travelling through a region of space that's under the influence of the Sun's gravity.

From a gravity point-of-view, I believe that is correct (actually, there is no limit to the distance of gravity interaction, but we know what you mean).

The "leaving the solar system" description comes from the description of the vacuum that they are travelling through. The solar system is filled with the charged particles that are emitted by the sun (the solar wind). At some point, these meet up with the interstellar medium.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/vo...r20110615.html

Scientists analyzing recent data from NASA's Voyager and Cassini spacecraft have calculated that Voyager 1 could cross over into the frontier of interstellar space at any time and much earlier than previously thought. The findings are detailed in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

Data from Voyager's low-energy charged particle instrument, first reported in December 2010, have indicated that the outward speed of the charged particles streaming from the sun has slowed to zero. The stagnation of this solar wind has continued through at least February 2011, marking a thick, previously unpredicted "transition zone" at the edge of our solar system.

"There is one time we are going to cross that frontier, and this is the first sign it is upon us," said Tom Krimigis, prinicipal investigator for Voyager's low-energy charged particle instrument and Cassini's magnetospheric imaging instrument, based at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

It may be that there are objects orbiting the sun that are actually outside of this sphere of influence of the solar wind.

[Glom]

No, no, Voyager, you cannot get away. From hell's heart, I stab at thee...

When they cease gyroscopic operations, does that mean it could potentially tumble?

[djellison]

It may be that there are objects orbiting the sun that are actually outside of this sphere of influence of the solar wind.

Oh - absolutely there are....the constituents of the Oort cloud, for one.