Podcaster: Loretta Cannon for the AAS-HAD ; Guest: Dr. Linda Spilker
Title: H’ad astra historia Ep 107 – Where No One Has Gone Before
Organization: Historical Astronomy Division
Link: https://had.aas.org/
Description:
Today’s guest: Dr. Linda Spilker (JPL Fellow and Sr Research Scientist) talks to us about the Voyager mission. She was there for the launch and each planetary flyby!
H’ad astra historia is the official podcast for the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. We’re here to share stories from and about the people who study the stars, planets, and the cosmos. We’ll be hearing from individuals who not only study the history of astronomy, but also those who lived it, who were “in the room” during pivotal events within the last 50 years or so.
H’ad astra historia is the official podcast for the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. We’re here to share stories from and about the people who study the stars, planets, and the cosmos. We’ll be hearing from individuals who not only study the history of astronomy, but also those who lived it, who were “in the room” during pivotal events within the last 50 years or so.
podcast music: “Frost Waltz” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under creative commons: by attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Bio: Loretta Cannon, an AAS affiliate via Rose City Astronomers, is a member of the leadership committee for the Historical Astronomy Division (2023-2025). She is a polymath with degrees in anthropology, microbiology, and biochemistry, and has many years of experience in both the private sector and government. When not reading some of her way-too-many books, she watches BritBox, creates recipes, or plays in the garden. She chose science writing/editing in astronomy as a new career. In short, she’s a sciencephile-word-nerd-foodie-with-a-plant-habit who really likes the stars.
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Transcript:
Rather than provide a complete transcript, we’re sharing links for further reading for the topics or names you’ve heard in today’s episode: “Where No One Has Gone Before”
Dr. Linda Spilker: https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Spilker/
NASA’s Voyager HOME page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager
Voyager Mission Overview: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/mission-overview
Voyager Mission Status: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/
This page has a table that shows (in real time) elapsed mission time and the distance each spacecraft has traveled (distance from Earth or the Sun). During the Spring (for folks in the northern hemisphere) the distance from Earth will be decreasing; this is normal because the Earth moves around the Sun each year.
Voyager as seen in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System:
https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/sc_voyager_1
This page is a real treat! You can ‘see’ the spacecraft’s location in real time, or you can move it backwards to watch its travels since 1977, and so much more.
Voyager 1’s Recent Mishap: https://blogs.nasa.gov/voyager/2024/10/28/after-pause-nasas-voyager-1-communicating-with-mission-team/
Sears Catalog (Not a secure site): http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/
First Lunar Landing (Apollo 11): https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/
IRIS Instrument: https://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/data_and_services/atmospheres_data/Voyager/iris.html
NASA’s Viking Project (Mars): https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking/
The Farthest Voyager (2017), trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fyI-8FmV4I
Watch the full documentary here: https://www.pbs.org/the-farthest
It’s also available for viewing via PBS Passport, a streaming service free with your annual PBS donation.
Voyager 1and 2 – Planetary Voyage: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/planetary-voyage
Voyager images at Jupiter: https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/voyager-at-jupiter
Jupiter Whistlers (lightning) recorded by Voyager 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irsNtth5Cnk
“These signals were recorded by the Voyager 1 plasma wave instrument as the spacecraft flew past Jupiter on Mar 5, 1979.” This is one sample from the collection of Prof Don Gurnett’s favorite space audio recordings available from: http://space-audio.org/
Voyager images of moon Io: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/io?subselect=Spacecraft:Voyager+1
Jupiter’s Ring (seen by Voyager 1): https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia02251-jupiters-ring/
Voyager images of moon Europa: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/europa?subselect=Mission:Voyager
Europa: https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/moons/europa/
Europe Clipper mission: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/
Voyager at Saturn: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/40-years-on-remembering-voyagers-legacy-at-saturn/
Recent article on Voyager’s images of Saturn’s rings: https://www.astronomy.com/science/when-voyager-gave-us-the-first-close-up-pictures-of-saturns-rings/
Voyager images of moon Enceladus: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/enceladus?subselect=Spacecraft:Voyager+2
Voyager 2 at Uranus: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/planetary-voyage#uranus
Saturn’s moon Miranda: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/miranda/
Uranus’ magnetosphere – overview: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4144
Uranus’ magnetosphere – 2020 research: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/revisiting-decades-old-voyager-2-data-scientists-find-one-more-secret/
Uranus’ magnetosphere – 2024 Research Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02389-3
Voyager at Neptune: https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/30-years-ago-voyager-2s-historic-neptune-flyby/
and: https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/voyager-at-neptune/
Neptune’s moon Triton: https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/neptune-moons/triton/
Interstellar Mission: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/interstellar-mission/
Voyager 2 Goes Interstellar: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-voyager-2-probe-enters-interstellar-space/
Deep Space Network (DSN): https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn/
DSN Now (real-time): https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/dsn-now/dsn.html
Best viewed on your android tablet or phone so you’ll be able to ‘see’ which antenna is communicating with which spacecraft or space telescope (look for squiggly lines above each antenna) !!
Also for fun, listen to Linda and Tom Spilker on Planetary Radio podcast (25 Feb 2008): https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/277
podcast music: “Frost Waltz” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under creative commons: by attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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