Voyager 1: The spacecraft is farthest away from Earth

The US Voyager 1 satellite has just reached a record distance of 100 astronomical units (AU) and becomes the space device most emitted by humans from Earth.

According to the US Aerospace Agency (NASA), on August 15, Voyager 1 flew to unspecified spaces at the outer edge of the Solar System and about 100 AU from Earth (100 times around the way between the Sun and Earth), equivalent to 15 billion km.

Voyager 1 and 2 satellites were launched into space in 1977. (Photo: spacetoday.org).

Voyager 1 went into Heliosheath, the farthest part of the Solar System, between the Termination Shock and Heliopause regions, where the Sun's influence faded. Scientists predict that in the next 10 years, Voyager 1 will go into unexplored interstellar areas but cannot know the exact time.

Voyager 1 and 2 satellites were launched into space in 1977 to make an extraordinary expedition outside the Solar System, passing through planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune king).

Currently both satellites are located at a distance of 13-15 billion kilometers from Earth and continue to fly further with the goal of identifying unknown boundaries between the Solar System and interstellar space.

NASA's farthest antennas communicate regularly with these two satellites and collect data recorded by the two satellites through particle detectors.

Voyager 1 and 2 are 13-15 billion km away from us. (Photo: futura-sciences).

On December 16, 2004, Voyager 1 surpassed the Termination Shock limit, an area that surrounds the Solar System but has not yet determined the exact location due to changes in the characteristics of the solar wind. This is where the Sun's wind begins to mix with cosmic dust and gas.

Through data sent by Voyager 1, scientists know that at Termination Shock, the speed of the solar wind tends to decrease. The density of low energy particles increases while high energy particles remain the same.

From now to 2020, the generators use the radioactive plutonium isotopes of the satellite and the two satellites will lose touch permanently.

Saturn photos taken by Voyager 1. (Photo: NASA)

HOANG MINH