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Hubble Charts Course For Voyager Spacecraft Heading Into Interstellar Space
In this artist’s conception, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has a bird’s-eye view of the solar system. The circles represent the orbits of the major outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. (NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI))
By measuring the material that lies along the paths of NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft as they move into interstellar space, the Hubble space telescope is providing them the road map, scientists have reported. Along the way, the Voyagers are measuring the interstellar medium, the mysterious environment between stars.
NASA launched the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1977. Both explored the outer planets Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 went on to visit Uranus and Neptune. The two Voyagers are currently exploring the outermost edge of the sun's domain. The astronomers hope that the Hubble observations will help them characterise the physical properties of the local interstellar medium.
A preliminary analysis of the Hubble observations reveals a rich, complex interstellar ecology, containing multiple clouds of hydrogen laced with other elements. Even after the Voyagers run out of electrical power and are unable to send back new data, which may happen in about a decade, astronomers said they can use Hubble observations to characterise the environment through which these silent ambassadors will glide.
With inputs from IANS
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