Voyager is an outer galaxy developed and built by the United StatesSpace probe, two are launched.Formerly known as "Sailor 11" and "Sailor 12"[1]。Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 were launched on August 20 and September 5, 1977, respectively.The two sister probes fly in two different orbits.It is responsible for detecting the periphery of the solar systemplanetTasks for.Voyager 1And her sister shipVoyager 2The carried plutonium battery (nuclear power battery) will last until about 2025.When the battery runs out, they will stop working and continue toGalaxyGo forward at the center of.In mid August 2012, researchers indicated that Voyager 1 would enterInterstellar spaceIn 35 years, 17.8 billion kilometers were flown.NASA, September 12, 2013NASAConfirm that Voyager 1 has leftsolar systemIt takes more than a year to reach the open interstellar space outside the solar system.[2]
In November 2019, according to the US Space Network, Voyager is expected to have five years of life[3]。
Chinese name
Voyager probe
Foreign name
Voyager
Affiliated organization
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The Voyager probe was launched by the United States in 1977Planetary probe。The original names of the two detectors are“Sailor Plan”"Sailor 11" and "Sailor 12".They ingeniously use the gravitational action of giant planets to make them change their orbits in time, so as to achieve the goal of detecting multiple planets and their satellites at the same time.The two detectors each weigh 815 kg, and the structure is basically the same, withCosmic ray sensor、Plasma sensingimplement、magnetometer11 kinds of scientific instruments, including wide-angle and narrow angle TV cameras and infrared interferometers, cost 350 million dollars.The launch of No. 1 was delayed due to failure before the launch, which was postponed to September 5, 1977, and the launch of No. 2 was scheduled to take place on August 20, 1977.
Exploration plan
[4]It has detected Jupiter and Saturn, while No. 2 has detected Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and has achieved great success, sending back about 500 million data.Provides information about Jupiter's magnetic fieldMagnetosphere, atmosphere and internal structure, and found Jupiter aurora, Jupiter ring and 5New Ganymede, inspected in detailGalileo satellite；When passing through Saturn, we found the detailed structure of Saturn's rings and many new dynamic phenomena, and 22 moons formed a complex motion system, which confirmed that giant planets have their own energy sources, and the surface is an ocean of liquid hydrogen, leading to profound changes in people's concept of planets.
No. 2 also explored the atmosphere and magnetic field of Uranus tomorrow and revised itsRotation cycle value, put forward its unique internal structure model, and found 10 new Tianwei and 11 new Tianwang rings;Major discoveries related to Neptune include: ascertaining its atmospheric composition and intense atmospheric activities, discovering black spots and bright spots on the surface, ascertaining its magnetic field, magnetosphere and internal structure, and confirming five ring belts and six new Triton, especially Triton's achievements are of great value.Two probes will fly out of the solar system from different directions.They all carry a special gilded record, "Voice of the Earth", on which various audio and video information about human beings are recorded: greetings to "Cosmic Man" in 60 languages, 35 sounds of nature, 27 songsClassical music115 photos.It is estimated that the record can be preserved in the universe for 1 billion years.
The two are interrelated
American and Chinese astronomers published a paper in the new issue of the British journal Nature, scheduled to be published on July 3, 2008, saying that there was a significant difference in the distance between the two detectors and the sun when they crossed the edge of the solar system in completely opposite directions, which indicated that the solar system was not a simple symmetric sphere as originally thought, but should be similar to an ellipsoid,"Like an egg".
Prototype of Voyager
The solar system is centered on the sun. The entire "sphere of influence" of the sun is called the "heliosphere" in astronomy, and it is also a virtual bubble connected by the solar wind (high-energy particles ejected by the sun) where it can reachSolar system planetsWhen the solar wind "collides" with the interstellar matter outside the solar system, it suddenly decelerates at the "shock wave boundary", so this deceleration position is regarded as a sign of the beginning of the solar system edge.Further outside, the force of the solar wind gives way to the force of interstellar matter outside the solar system. This outermost region is called the solar wind sheath, or "solar sheath".
Leonard Borlaug, an astrophysicist at NASA, said that many researchers previously believed that the shape of the solar system was simple and symmetrical, but now it seems that there is a huge hand pushing on one side to make it asymmetrical.
The scientific research team concluded that this driving factor came from the magnetic field between many star systems in the Milky Way, including the solar system.The magnetic field acts at different angles on both ends of the solar system, making the solar system asymmetric.Ed Stone, a scientist of the Voyager probe project, pointed out that this differential effect of the magnetic field may be caused by the interstellar turbulence caused by the explosion of stars in the Milky Way.[5]
Current status
In 2005, Voyager 1 successfully crossed the so-called impact stagnation zone. Due to the influence of the external environment of the solar system, the solar wind, which was traveling at a speed of 1.1-2.4 kilometers per hour, came to a sudden stop here.
As of August 15, 2006, Voyager 1 has been 100 astronomical units away from the sun and will be close to 15 billion kilometers, making it the farthest man-made object ever flown.andVoyager 2The distance to the sun has also reached 76 astronomical units (about 11.4 billion kilometers).
Voyager arrives at the edge of the solar atmosphere
The probe is close to the edge of the solar system, heresolar windIt has begun to integrate with other interstellar environments, and the detector is too far away from the sun to use solar energy.They operate at less than 300 watts of power, which is only enough to power a bright light bulb, which is powered by aradio isotopeProvided by thermoelectric generator.Today, Voyager 1 travels millions of kilometers every day. In the next decade, the probe will enter other star spaces outside the solar system.
It will sail all the way in the vast universe, constantly sending back the information of strange outer space that has never been explored before to mankind, until it runs out of energy in 2020.After that, it bid farewell to human beings and drifted silently in the universe until forever.
On December 24, 2009, Voyager reached the edge of the solar atmosphere.
NASA, California, USA, June 17, 2012（NASA）Jet Propulsion LaboratoryThe statement said that the data sent back by the Voyager 1 probe launched in 1977 showed that it had reached the edge of the solar system. The probe, which had traveled alone in space for 35 years, was expected to be the first man-made object to leave the solar system.If the time of message transmission is excluded, the time when Voyager 1 reached the edge of the solar system is May 2012.
The space agency said that in the past three years, the two high-energy telescopes carried by Voyager 1 have received more and more cosmic rays. Last month, the number of cosmic rays from outside the solar system increased sharply.In addition, the detector sensesHigh-energy particleThe number also changed, and the number of these particles originating from the sun decreased.Based on these data, the project scientists concluded that "the first messenger sent by human beings to interstellar space has been at the edge of the solar system".
Ed Stone, a scientist involved in the Voyager project, said that the physical laws showed that Voyager 1 would become the first man-made object to enter interstellar space one day in the future, but the specific date was still uncertain.
Scientific exploration
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Explore Jupiter
One hundred days after launch,Voyager 1Exceed Voyager 2 and arrived at Jupiter for investigation.On March 5, 1979, Voyager 1 met Jupiter at 275000 kilometers away from Jupiter, took thousands of pictures of Jupiter and its satellites and sent them back to Earth.Through these photos, we can find that there is also an optical ring around Jupiter, and it is also detected that there isvolcanoOutbreak activity.Voyager 2 arrived near Jupiter on July 9, 1979, passed between Jupiter and its moons, and took thousands of photos at a distance of 720000 kilometers from Jupiter.
Explore Saturn
Photos of Saturn and its moons taken by Voyager 2
On November 13, 1980 and August 26, 1981, the two detectors respectively flew closeSaturninvestigate.When Voyager 1 passed Saturn, it found thousands of rings, forming a group of interlaced circular ribbons.Voyager 1 also focused on detecting what was originally thought to be the largest satellite in the solar system——titanHowever, from the photos taken back, it is found that the diameter of Titan is only 4828 kilometers, rather than 5760 kilometers as previously thought, so it is determined that it is less thanGanymedeSo that it becomes the second largest satellite in the solar system.In addition, several new moons of Saturn have been discovered.Voyager 2 made a close exploration of the newly discovered Saturn ring and several satellites, sending back more than 10000 photos to the Earth.
The Voyager probe itself weighs 816 kg and carries 105 kg of scienceDetecting instrument。Its main body is a flat decagonal prism with a 3.7-meter diameterparaboloidFor the antenna, a cantilever extends from the left and right sides, the longer one is the magnetometer support, and the shorter one is the scientific instrument support.There are 10 kinds of detection instruments, mainly including the camera equipment of planets and their satellites and various space environment detection equipment.Voyager's Saturn exploration trip initially revealed the face of the Saturn family.
At present,Traveler detectorHave flown out of the solar system and into the vast depths of the universe.
Explore the Far Earth Planet
Gold plate carried by Voyager
After investigating Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1 began to fly away from the solar system, while Voyager 2 not only had to go through the Martian orbit and dangerousAsteroid belt, successively rendezvous with Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1981), andUranusandNeptuneRendezvous.This not only greatly improved the utilization rate of spacecraft, but also enriched the content of scientific exploration. The flight routes such as Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 should be adopted. Only in 179 did there be an appropriate opportunity.
Voyager 2 explored Uranus and Neptune between 1985 and 1989.Uranus is a mysterious planet that was accidentally discovered on March 13, 1781. It is very far away from the earth. When you observe it with an astronomical telescope, the image you see is very blurred.Voyager 2 began to approach Uranus on November 4, 1985 after eight years and 4.8 billion kilometers.On January 24, 1986, it flew over the nearest point to Uranus, and then continued to observe until February 25.At 17:59 on January 24, 1988, Voyager 2 crossed 1070700 kilometers from the equator of Uranus, and sailed for six hours. It carefully observed the true face of Uranus and took a lot of precious photos.It is the first time to investigate an object 3 billion kilometers away from the Earth at such a close distance.
On August 24, 1989, at 20:56 UT, Voyager 2, after completing its exploration mission to Uranus, went through 12 years of space flight, with a total voyage of 7.2 billion kilometers, and flew over 4827 kilometers above the north pole of Neptune as scheduled.Since Neptune was first discovered in 1846, until 1989, it was only a small light spot when viewed with a high power telescope.One month before Voyager 2 flew over Neptune, its camera lens began to focus on Neptune. When it went straight to Neptune at a speed of more than 60000 kilometers per hour, and passed the nearest point 4827 kilometers away from the north pole of Neptune, it kept taking photos and sent back more than 6000 color photos to the earth,These photos are sent from about 4.5 billion kilometers away from the earth. It takes 4 hours and 6 minutes to reach the earth even if it is radio transmission.The scientists who saw the first pictures of Neptune in front of the big screen were stunned.Because this is the first time that humans have seen Neptune as far away as 4.5 billion kilometers.
Features - carrying earth civilization
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"Gold CD" carried by the detector
In addition to scientific instruments, the Voyager probe also carried a gold-plated copper plate audio-video film [the record is 12 inches thick, with a gold-plated surface and a phonograph needle inside. The 55 human languages include ancient Mesopotamian Akkadian and other very obscure languages, as well as four Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Wu, Minnan, Cantonese)] and a diamond stylus,It can be preserved in the universe for 1 billion years. It records that Kurt Waldheim, then Secretary General of the United Nations, and Carter, then President of the United States, sent greetings to extraterrestrial intelligent creatures in 54 human languages. The content is: "This is a gift from a remote small world.It records our voice, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and feelings.We are trying to live in our times and enter your times.There are also 117 patterns of animals and plants on the earth, as well as 90 minute recordings of music from various countries, including the famous traditional Chinese zither music "High Mountains and Flowing Water", Mozart's "Magic Flute" and JapaneseChi BaquEtc.[6]These voices of the earth will echo in space with human expectations.People hope that it will encounter extraterrestrial life in the long years of drifting in the universe, and this record conveys the message from the people on earth.
This is a gift from a remote small planet. It is the epitome of our voice, science, image, music, thoughts and feelings. The voice of the earth is to give us hope, our determination and our good wishes for the distant world in this vast and awe inspiring universe.
Status quo: His orbit can no longer guide the spacecraft back to the solar system, becoming an interstellar spacecraft
Exploration task
Voyager 1
Visit Jupiter
After the launch of Voyager 1, Jupiter was photographed for the first time in January 1979.On March 5 of the same year, it was the closest to Jupiter, only 349000 kilometers away from the center of Jupiter.As a result of skipping at such a close distance, the spacecraft was able to have a deep understanding of Jupiter's satellite, ring, magnetic field and radiation environment and take high-resolution pictures during the 48 hour close flight time.The whole shooting process was finally completed in April.
The two spacecraft made many important discoveries about Jupiter and its satellites, and the most surprising discovery was the volcanic activity on Io.This was not observed on the earth at that time, evenPioneer 10 No observation was made on No. 11 and No.
Visit Saturn
After successfully taking advantage of Jupiter's gravity, the spacecraft headed for Saturn.Voyager 1 skipped Saturn in November 1980 and was closest to Saturn on November 12, within 124000 kilometers (77000 miles) of Saturn's highest cloud layer.The spacecraft detected the complex structure of Saturn's rings and observed the atmosphere on Titan.After discovering that Titan has a dense atmosphere, the controller of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory finally decided to let Voyager 1 drive closer to Titan for research, and then stopped it from continuing to visit the other two planets.As a result, the mission of visiting Uranus and Neptune had to be entrusted to Voyager 2.The decision to approach Titan caused the spacecraft to be subjected to additional gravitational effects, which eventually led the spacecraft to leave the ecliptic and terminate its mission to explore planets.
After leaving Saturn, Voyager 1 was described by NASA as an interstellar exploration mission.It is estimated that the batteries on the two passenger spaceships can provide enough power to operate some instruments on board until 2020.
2003 Stop scanning platform and ultraviolet observation
~2010 Stop slewing operation
~In 2010, stop the data terminal from being ready for operation (only the 70 m/34 m antenna array can receive 1.4 bits of data per second)
~In 2016, the instruments finally shared power
>2025 does not have enough power to start any single instrument[10]
Heliospheric zenith
Voyager 1 is in the Heliosheath. As Voyager 1 is heading into interstellar space, the instruments on board will continue to study the solar system.Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are usingPlasma waveExperiment to verify the existence of heliosphere top.
U.S.AJohns Hopkins UniversityScientists at the Applied Physics Laboratory believe Voyager 1 entered theTerminal seismic wave area。However, some scientists expressed doubts in the famous scientific journal Nature on November 6, 2003.On the morning of May 25, 2005American Geophysical Society(AGU) At a scientific conference, Ed?Dr. Stohn presented the evidence "SH22A-01" that Voyager 1 had left the terminal shock wave in December 2004.Since the solar wind detector on the ship stopped operation as early as 1990, this discussion has not reached a conclusion after several months, so we have to wait for other information to be available.Finally, NASA issued a press release in May 2005, saying that there was consensus that Voyager 1 was in the solar sheath.Scientists believe that the spacecraft will reach the top of the heliosphere, the edge of the solar system, in 2015.
Voyager probe
At 22:13 on August 15, 2006, UTC, Voyager 1 was 100 astronomical units away from the sun (about 14.96 terameters or 9.03 billion miles or 0.002 light years), making it the farthest man-made object from the earth.This distance is farther than any known object in the natural solar system, including（“sedna ”）。Although the aphelion of Sedna's orbit is 975 astronomical units, as the object is slowly moving towards its perihelion of 76 astronomical units, its position in 2006 was 90 astronomical units away from the sun, so it is a little closer to the sun than Voyager 1.
According to the current position, the earth andspacecraftIts position is 13.8 light hours (light speed is 186282.397 miles per second and 299792.458 kilometers per second).
To facilitate comparison, the distance between the earth and the moon is 1.4 light seconds;The distance from the sun is about 8.5 light minutes;The average distance from Pluto is about 5.5 light hours.In November 2005, the spacecraft was moving away from the sun at a speed of 17.2 kilometers per second (3.6 astronomical units per year or 38400 kilometers per hour), 10 percent faster than Voyager 2.Information about the exact location of the spacecraft can be found in the document released by NASA.The position of the two spacecraft relative to the sun is calculated to 2015 in the document.The spacecraft did not point at any star, but it will pass at AC+7938881.7 astronomical units in the constellation Deer and Leopard in about 40000 years.
In September 2006, the spacecraft's position was at 17.051 a.m., 12.22 ° declination, that is, toward Ophiuchus.At present, NASA continues to use the deep space network to track the position of the spacecraft every day.
On March 31, 2006, from AMSAT, Germany（Amateur Radio Satellite Communications Organization）Tracking and receiving data from Voyager 1, they used a 20 meter dish antenna in conjunction with the long observation time technology at Bohong.Later, those data were proofread and verified with the data obtained by the observation station of the Deep Space Network in Madrid, Spain (German document of AMSAT-DL, English document of ARRL).It is believed that this is the first time to track travelers like this.
Space travel log
At 12:56 on September 5, 1977, in the United StatesCape Canaveral Air BaseDepart, leave the earth.
In December 1977, it caught up with the twin brother "Voyager 2" who was the first to leave the earth.
In September 1978, he left the asteroid belt.
In March 1979, I visited Jupiter closely and saw the aurora on the sunny side of Jupiter.
In November 1980, a close visit to Saturn sent back more than 10000 color photos.
In 1989, we moved towards the center of the Milky Way.
In May 2012, it reached the edge of the solar system.
In June 2012, the detector ran at a speed of about 17 kilometers per second, about 18 billion kilometers from the earth, and reached the edge of the solar system. It is expected to become the first man-made object to leave the solar system.
Fly away from the solar system
On August 16, 2012, according to scientists, there is more and more evidence that NASA's Voyager 1 will leave the solar system soon.Researchers have collected some crucial parameters, indicating that Voyager 1, launched in 1977, will enter interstellar space.
This spaceship, which left the earth in 1977, is currently flying in the distant space 17.8 billion kilometers away.This is the longest distance that an artificial object has traveled so far.On July 28, its long and dangerous journey was interrupted by a sudden change.Traveler spacecraft is flying at a high speed of 16 kilometers per second. The data on July 28 showed that the level of high-energy cosmic rays in the space around the spacecraft increased by about 5%.
This shows that the spacecraft is gradually moving towards the outside of the heliosphere. The so-called heliosphere refers to a "protective bubble" formed around the entire solar system due to a large number of charged particles released by the sun, which blocks the cosmic rays from the outside and protects the safety of the entire solar system.
On the same day, the level of low-energy charged particles from the interior of the solar system dropped by half.
However, in the next three days, the strength of these particles returned to their original levels.This unexpected phenomenon has left a big mystery for NASA scientists, who are now waiting for more data to be sent back.
The third key parameter that scientists are looking for is the magnetic field direction experienced by Voyager 1.They believe that when the probe reaches interstellar space, the magnetic field jumps from east to west to north and south.However, at present, the research team has not yet observed this jump, and scientists say that they should be able to obtain preliminary analysis results of the latest magnetic field data next month.
The twin spacecraft of Voyager 1, Voyager 2, was launched on August 20, 1977 and is currently 15 billion kilometers away from the sun.
Edward Stone, a scientist of the Traveler Project, said: "This is an exciting moment for the Traveler Project team. As the Traveler probe gradually approaches the edge of the solar system, we are trying to understand the rapid changes here." He said: "It is obvious that we are in a new area at the edge of the solar system, where things can change rapidly.But so far we can't announce that this spacecraft has flown out of the solar system and entered the interstellar space. "[7]
Enter interstellar space
The spacecraft flew out of the solar system only when the direction of the magnetic field around it changed.
American Geophysical Union(AGU) The press conference announced that NASA's "Voyager 1" spacecraft entered the interstellar space, but the spacecraft team in charge of the Voyager spacecraft at the NASA level put forward a different view.
Voyager 1 measured a significant increase in cosmic rays in the Milky Way, indicating the time to fly out of the solar system.This is regarded as the signal that Voyager 1 has passed through the heliopause, where charged particles emitted by the solar wind form plasma bubbles.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA in charge of the Voyager spacecraft posted a statement: "The Voyager spacecraft team insists that the spacecraft has not yet reached the interstellar space. We have different standards. When the direction of the magnetic field between the interstellar medium and the sun changes, it can be considered that it has flown out of the solar system."They said they had not detected such a change. Although Voyager 1 was sailing towards the Star Sea at a speed of 38000 miles per hour, it had not yet flown out of the solar system.On the same day, AGU changed the title of the message to "Sudden changes in cosmic rays suggest that Voyager 1 has entered a new region".
In August 2012, the "Traveler" team reported that the spacecraft entered an unknown "magnetic highway", where the magnetic fields inside and outside the "solar wind layer" were connected.[4]
On June 15, 2013, NASA recently announced that the data sent back by the Voyager 1 probe launched by NASA in 1977 showed that it had reached the edge of the solar system, which is expected to become the first man-made object to leave the solar system.
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 with the original goal of observing Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. After completing its mission in 1989, NASA ordered it to move towards the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.At present, the speed of the probe is about 17 kilometers per second, about 18 billion kilometers away from the earth.[8]
Voyager 2
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Exploration task
Visit Saturn
Voyager probe
Voyager 2 was closest to Saturn on August 25, 1981.When the spacecraft is behind Saturn (relative to the Earth), it uses radar to detect the upper atmosphere of Saturn, and measures the temperature and density.Voyager 2 found that the temperature at the upper level (when the air pressure is equal to 7 hPa) was 70 K (± 203 ° C), while at the lower level (when the air pressure is equal to 120 hPa), 143K (± 130 ° C) was measured.The Arctic will be 10K colder, but there will still be seasonal changes.
After skipping Saturn, the shooting platform on the ship was a bit jammed, making the mission to Uranus and Neptune variable.Fortunately, the staff on the ground finally solved the problem because the lubricating oil was temporarily exhausted due to excessive use.In the end, the spaceship still received the order to continue to move forward and go to Uranus.[9]
Visit Uranus
Voyager 2 was the closest to Uranus on January 24, 1986, and immediately discovered 10 previously unknown natural satellites.In addition, the spacecraft also detected the unique atmosphere of Uranus, which is tilted by 97.77 ° from its rotation axis, and observed itsPlanetary ringSystem.In this first pass, the closest approach to Uranus is only 81500 kilometers (50600 miles) from the top of Uranus's clouds.
Voyager 2 found that one of the effects of Uranus's tilt position on its 60 degree magnetic field was that its magnetic tail was twisted into a spiral shape due to Uranus's rotation, appearing behind Uranus.
Voyager pictures of Jupiter
Some high-level fog is detected at the pole of direct sunlight, and it is found that these fog help spread a lot of ultraviolet light, which is called "sunrise".Its average temperature is 60K (- 350 ° F).
When Voyager 2 flew by, from the detailed photos taken back, it was seen that there were some valleys as deep as 20 kilometers (12 miles), uplifted faults and the surface mixed with old and new ages.Some theories suggest that Diospyros may be a recombination of some materials that were broken after violent impact in the early period.
The spacecraft also observed nine known rings, showing that Uranus's rings are quite different from those of Jupiter and Saturn.The whole star ring system is relatively new, not formed together with Uranus.The constituent particles in the star ring may be a particle torn by high-speed impact or tidal forceSatellite debrisAnd formed.[9]
Visit Neptune
Voyager 2 was closest to Uranus on August 25, 1989.Since this is the last planet that Voyager 2 can visit, it was decided to adjust its channel to be closer to Triton and ignore its flight path, just like Voyager 1 did not ignore its flight path to Titan after its visit to Saturn.
The spacecraft found Neptune'sLarge scotoma, later onHubble Space TelescopeIt disappeared when it was observed again in 1994.At first it was thought to be a large cloud, but later it was thought to be a hole in the cloud.
Passing Pluto
After Voyager 2 visited Neptune,PlutoIt was the only planet that had not been visited by any spaceship flying from the earth at that time.But after the International Astronomical Society redefined the planet, Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet.
Therefore, the passing of Voyager 2 in 1989 made all planets in the solar system visited by artificial spacecraft at least once.[9]
Leaving the solar system
Since Voyager 2's mission to visit the planets has ended, Voyager 1 has been described by NASA as an interstellar exploration mission to search forHeliosphereWhat is the outer solar system like.It is generally believed that Voyager 1 flew over the terminal shock wave area in December 2004, and is now in theheliosheath inDifferent from No. 1, it is generally believed that No. 2 still does not fly over the terminal seismic wave.Each tourist spaceship carries a piece ofVoyager Golden Record In case the spaceship is captured by intelligent creatures in outer space.The record contains images of the earth and various creatures, some scientific information and a serial music "The Sound of the Earth".The song includes such music as whales, babies crying, waves beating and different kinds of music.
On September 5, 2006, Voyager 2 was about 80.5 astronomical units (about 12 meters) away from the sunEcliptic discrete objectsAnd is taking 3.3Astronomical unitSpeed forward.At this distance, the sun andPlutoThe distance between thesedna The perihelion of is far away, but it has not surpassed the farthest orbit of Eris.
Voyager 2 will continue to transmit signals until the 2020s.[9]
Exploring Significance of Voyager 2
On January 24, 1986, Voyager 2 passed by at 80000 kilometers away from Uranus. After 46 days of investigation, it was the first time to accurately measure the revolution and rotation period of Uranus. This exploration exceeded the achievements accumulated in 205 years since the discovery of Uranus.
Atmospheric composition of Uranus
Voyager probe
fromVoyager 2It is found that the helium content in Uranus's atmosphere is about 10% - 15%, the rest is hydrogen, and there are a small amount of other gases.There are storm clouds in the atmosphere, and there is brown fog over the Antarctic. The temperature of the Antarctic upper atmosphere exposed to the sun is 1800 ℃, while the temperature of the Arctic upper atmosphere in the dark is even higher, up to 2400 ℃, which is just the opposite of the temperature change on the earth.Uranus has a twisted magnetic field and a radiation belt with radiation intensity equal to that of the earth. Ten small satellites with a diameter of about tens of kilometers have been discovered, makingUranus satelliteThe total number increased to 15;Uranus has at least 20 rings, but only 9 rings can be seen on the ground. These rings are very dark and mainly composed of ice and stones.
Voyager 2 also found that the surface of Uranus was covered by the vast ocean, with a depth of 8000 kilometers and a temperature of thousands of degrees Celsius.Because its ocean is surrounded by an atmosphere thousands of kilometers thick, the ultrahigh temperature seawater cannot boil.In the cloud layer of Uranus, it is also found that there is jet air flow, and there are violent storms in the atmosphere, with wind speed up to 1600 km/h.There are strange“Electroglow”, which may be related to the existence of hydrogen.Voyager 2 revealed two mysteries of Uranus: 1. Its volume is 64 times that of the Earth, but its mass is only 11.6 times that of the Earth. This is because the composition of Uranus is different from that of the Earth. The latter is mainly composed of iron and stone, so its density is much higher than the former;2 is that the magnetic field intensity of Uranus is very weak, only 1/10 of the magnetic field intensity of the Earth, and its magnetic field direction is not toward the axis of rotation of the star, and its magnetic axis deviates 55 ° from its rotation axis. This twisted and irregular magnetic field may be caused by the slow agitation of its huge ocean and rock core.According to the detection results, scientists believe that Uranus was formed by the combination of millions of comets. These comets were huge ice blocks, but in the process of forming the planet, they were subjected to high pressure and impact to generate high temperature, which turned the ice ball into a water ball.
On August 25, 1989, Voyager 2 flew over Neptune, which was the first time that human beings usedSpace probeExplore Neptune.It met Neptune at the closest point 4827 kilometers away from Neptune, which made mankind see Neptune's face 4.5 billion kilometers away from the earth for the first time.It has discovered six new satellites of Neptune, bringing the total number of its satellites to eight;Neptune has five rings for the first time, three of which are dim and two are bright.From more than 6000 pictures of Neptune taken by Voyager 2, it is found that there are two huge black wind cloud belts with a width of about 4345 kilometers and a storm area as large as the Earth around the south pole of Neptune, which form a large black spot like Jupiter's Great Red Spot.The big black spot rotates counterclockwise along the central axis, and it takes 10 days to rotate 360 °.Neptune also has magnetic fields and radiation belts, and most regions have auroras like the northern and southern poles of the Earth.Neptune's atmosphere is volatile. The atmosphere contains white clouds made of frozen methane and large cyclones. Behind the cyclones are 640km/hhurricane。There is a layer of smoke above Neptune caused by sunlight shining on methane in the atmosphere.
Voyager Explorer Photos
Voyager 2 also flew to Triton for investigation, and found that Triton is indeed the only large satellite in the solar system that reverses the direction of the rotation of the planet, and it is also the coldest celestial body in the solar system.It is brighter, colder and smaller than originally thought. Its surface temperature is - 240 ℃. Some areas are covered with water ice and snow, and it often snows.There are three ice volcanoes on it, which once emitted frozen methane orNitrogen ice particle。The jet height sometimes reaches 32 km.There may be liquid nitrogen oceans and ice lakes on Triton, and there are faults, mountains, canyons and glaciers everywhere, which indicates that similar earthquakes may have occurred on Triton.Triton has a thin atmosphere composed of nitrogen, and its polar cap is frozen with nitrogen to form a dazzling white world.
Follow up development of Voyager 2
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NASA has planned to develop and launch a spacecraft called Express in March 2010 when Pluto is at perihelionPluto probe。This detector is a hexagonal cylinder with a width of 0.5m, equipped with aVisible light camera1 set of ultraviolet spectrometer for recording the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and 1 set of oscillator for measuring the characteristics of the lower atmosphereRadioisotope generatorYes, total power 65 watts.Because Pluto's rotation speed is too slow, it needs two detectors at the same time to effectively detect its full picture.
But only when this plan is implemented can people reveal the true face of the last planet to be detected.
