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The Journey of Discovery Continues

Voyager Interstellar Mission. The Journey of Discovery Continues. What is an Astronomical Unit (AU)??. Distance between Sun and Earth. About 93 million miles Or ~150 million kilometers Or ~8.3 light minutes. Mariner Jupiter Saturn (MJS) Mission. Renamed Voyager prior to launch.

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The Journey of Discovery Continues

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  1. Voyager Interstellar Mission The Journey of Discovery Continues

  2. What is an Astronomical Unit (AU)?? Distance between Sun and Earth About 93 million miles Or ~150 million kilometers Or ~8.3 light minutes

  3. Mariner Jupiter Saturn (MJS) Mission Renamed Voyager prior to launch

  4. Spacecraft and Launch Vehicle

  5. The Grand Tour Trajectory

  6. The Grand Tour • active atmospheres • high-speed jet streams • large storm systems • all have ring systems • all have magnetospheres • total of 57 known moons • great diversity among moons • Io, Europa, Titan, Triton unique • spectrum of scientific discoveries

  7. Jupiter • Great Red Spot is complex storm rotating counterclockwise • Incredibly diverse satellite geology • Active volcanoes on Io with plumes extending up to 300 Km (200 miles) above surface. • Two new, small moons found orbiting just inside the ring and a third satellite discovered between orbits of Amalthea. • Magnetospheric rotation strips away material from Io and forms a torus along Io’s orbit around Jupiter. • Saw cloud top lightning bolts and polar auroras Jupiter and Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto

  8. Saturn • Complex ring system consisting of irregular shaped particles • A wide variety of satellites in Saturn’s orbit, including “shepherd” moons and possibly a captured asteroid • Titan, a planet-sized moon has thick nitrogen-methane atmosphere • Chemistry of Titan may resemble that which occurred on Earth before life evolved. Saturn and Enceladus, Rhea, Dionne, Tethys, Mimas, Titan

  9. Uranus • Magnetic field tilted 60 degrees and offset from the center of the planet by about 1/3 radius • Sunlit pole radiates large amounts of ultraviolet light - “dayglow” • Cloud top temperature about -350 degrees F over most of the planet • 10 new moons found • Broad ring system, distinctly different from those at Jupiter and Saturn Titinia Miranda

  10. Neptune • Found six new moons • Showed that Neptune’s rings are complete but are diffuse and the material so fine that they couldn’t be fully resolved from Earth. A total of four rings seen • Several large Dark Spots similar to Jupiter’s storms. Great Dark spot the size of Earth and resembling the Great Red Spot • Magnetic field highly tilted - 47 degrees from rotation axis - and offset from center by .55 radius • Active geyser-like eruptions seen on Triton • Triton’s retrograde orbit suggest it is a captured object Great Dark Spot Neptune and Triton

  11. Looking Back and Looking Ahead “pale blue dot” Portrait of the Solar System Voyager 1, February 14, 1990

  12. Voyager Distances As of 4 October 2004

  13. Voyager and the Termination Shock • Voyager 1 is the furthest human-made object from the Sun • Both spacecraft on paths toward interstellar space • No one knows how far out the Sun’s atmosphere (heliosphere) extends • Will know how far when Voyager 1 reaches termination shock • Heliopause is where the solar wind and interstellar wind meet • Termination shock expected to be less than 100 AU from the Sun • Voyager 1 may be close. Spacecraft has observed energetic Ions from the shock.

  14. The Solar System - Overview of Scale

  15. The Future • Sufficient power until the year 2020 • Voyagers will then wander the Milky Way • Voyager 1 within 1.6 light years of AC+79 3888 in 40,000 years • Voyager 2 within 4.3 light years of Sirius in 296,000 years

  16. Interstellar Outreach: A Golden Record From Earth • Greetings from U.S. President Jimmy Carter • Greetings from Kurt Waldheim, UN Secretary General • Congressional List • Greetings in 54 languages • Whale Greetings • Sounds of Earth • 90 minutes of music • 118 pictures

  17. For More Information • Voyager Web Site @ JPL http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov • Books • Murmurs of Earth, The Voyager Interstellar Record Carl Sagan, et al • Voyager’s Grand Tour Dethloff & Schorn

  18. Alternate Planetary Exploration Slides

  19. Jupiter’s Rich Meteorology belt zone “barge” Io and Europa over Jupiter disk Earth to scale Great Red Spot, CCW 350-yr storm

  20. Comparing the Galilean Satellites

  21. The Volcanoes of Io Pele plume to 300 km, fallout size of France Galileo image 50 km hot lava from Tvashtar Catena

  22. Europa - Ice Over a Vast Ocean Galileo image 5 km Voyager image

  23. Ganymede and Callisto Voyager Voyager/Galileo 15 km Galileo Galileo torn comet, 200 km scar

  24. Saturn and Titan dense, nitrogen-methane atmosphere for Titan chemistry may resemble early Earth ring “spokes” complex rings, many diverse moons

  25. Uranus and Miranda tilted, featureless, ringed, and 10 new moons discovered smashed and reassembled, or upwelling? diameter 472 km

  26. Neptune and Triton fast winds, Great Dark Spot, faint rings, 6 new moons geyser-like eruptions retrograde, likely captured object

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