Voyager 1 Reaches One Light-Day From Earth on Nov. 18
Voyager 1 will be more than 16 billion miles from Earth on Nov. 18, a full light-day away. NASA plans a worldwide light signal and a JPL event.
NASA’s Voyager 1 will have traveled one light-day from Earth on Wednesday, Nov. 18, the agency said. That distance is more than 16 billion miles (25.9 billion kilometers), so any light sent from Earth would take 24 hours to reach the probe. Voyager 1 launched in 1977, nearly 50 years ago, and NASA calls it the most distant human-made object.
To mark the occasion, NASA has planned two events: a public light display the evening before and a discussion at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.
A wave of golden light on Nov. 17
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, NASA is asking people around the world to take part in “Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light-Day.” After sunset, participants are meant to create a symbolic wave of golden light that circles the planet. NASA built a website that lets smartphones and tablets flash “VGR” in Morse code. VGR is Voyager’s call sign.
NASA encourages everyone to photograph or film their signal and post it on social platforms, tagging @NASA.
The JPL discussion on Nov. 19
On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 12 p.m. EST (9 a.m. PST), JPL will host a moderated discussion about the status of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Topics include the science the twin probes still collect in interstellar space and the challenge of keeping spacecraft running for so long over such vast distances. A question-and-answer session with media and audience members follows. The event will also include a preview of the NASA+ Voyager documentary, which is planned for release in 2027 for the mission’s 50th anniversary.
It takes place in JPL’s von Kármán Auditorium, where the lab held Voyager briefings during the spacecraft’s grand tour of the outer planets. The participants are:
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington
- Jonathan Lunine, chief scientist at JPL and professor of planetary science at Caltech
- Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at JPL
- Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at JPL
- Jamie Rankin, Voyager deputy project scientist at Princeton University
U.S. media who want to attend in person must RSVP by Monday, Nov. 16. Foreign national media seeking onsite credentials must RSVP by Thursday, Nov. 12. Media joining virtually must RSVP no later than two hours before the event. Everyone else can watch online.
Why it matters: where the Voyagers are now
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were designed to explore the outer planets, using a planetary alignment that occurs once every 176 years. Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2 took a different trajectory and entered in 2018. Both continue to send back observations of the environment beyond the heliosphere, the protective bubble created by the Sun.
Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL, which built and operates the spacecraft. NASA’s Deep Space Network, also managed by JPL, handles communication with the probes. NASA’s Heliophysics Division funds the mission.
Source: NASA
