Voyager’s Journey to the Planets and Beyond!
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region at the far reaches of our solar system. Referred to as a “magnetic highway”, scientists feel it is the final area the spacecraft has to cross before reaching interstellar space.
Please join us on Saturday, February 9, at 2:00 pm in the Bidwell Forum, when Voyager Project Scientist Dr. Ed Stone will take you past the gaseous giant planets to the edge of interstellar space, and discuss the ongoing missions of Voyagers 1 and 2.
Stone says, “Although Voyager 1 is still is inside the sun’s environment, we can taste what it’s like on the outside because the particles are zipping in and out of this magnetic highway. We believe this is the last leg of our journey to interstellar space. Our best guess is it’s likely just a few months to a couple years away. The new region isn’t what we expected, but we’ve come to expect the unexpected from Voyager.”
Voyager 1 and 2 were launched 16 days apart in 1977. At least one of the spacecraft has visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object, about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) away from the sun.
This JPL Talk will be followed by others, and is presented in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Speakers Bureau, the Glendora Public Library and the GPL Friends Foundation. The Glendora Public Library is located at 140 S. Glendora Avenue, Glendora, CA 91741. For more information on this and other programs contact the library at (626) 852-4891 or visit the website at www.glendoralibrary.org. All events are open and free to the public.