FARK.com: (7466816) After 35 years, Voyager 1 is 11 billion miles away and has reached the end of the solar system. Boy, don't you wish NASA made cars?

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		After 35 years, Voyager 1 is 11 billion miles away and has reached the end of the solar system. Boy, don't you wish NASA made cars? (reuters.com)		167
		More: Followup, Voyager, NASA, Ed Stone, Supernova, American Geophysical Union

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9774 clicks; posted to Main » on 04 Dec 2012 at 11:48 AM | Favorite | share:

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ktybear		2012-12-04 05:58:50 AM

My car has over 449,000 kms on the clock and still going strong.

I'm on the way back from the moon Alice!

/Subaru ftw
//go Voyager!!1!

Bontesla		2012-12-04 06:05:12 AM

Holy cow. Go NASA

kid_icarus		2012-12-04 07:26:16 AM

t3knomanser		2012-12-04 08:22:01 AM

If NASA made cars, they'd cost $1Bn. When something breaks, you won't be able to fix or replace it, instead an engineer will write ten-thousand new lines of code to program some other part on your car to do the job instead. It'll be solar powered, and the body will have the same sexy curves you might see on a brick.

MayoSlather		2012-12-04 09:01:39 AM

t3knomanser: It'll be solar powered, and the body will have the same sexy curves you might see on a brick.

Most likely it would look like the fuselage of the space shuttle, with a bumper sticker that reads "Thermal tile broke, watch for explosion"

basemetal		2012-12-04 09:04:40 AM

Wake me up when it hits the ort cloud.

Makh		2012-12-04 09:15:13 AM

It's a great big universe and we're all small and puny.

RexTalionis		2012-12-04 09:25:14 AM

Don't you hear my call
Though you're many years away
Don't you hear me calling you
Write your letters in the sand
For the day I take your hand
In the land that our grandchildren knew

See you out there, V'ger.

cretinbob		2012-12-04 09:26:50 AM

subby is a commie

ZAZ		2012-12-04 09:47:45 AM

You really have to fiddle with the radio knob on one of them to get any reception. And don't even think about Pandora unless you enjoy 10 bit per second mp3 quality.

scottydoesntknow		2012-12-04 10:18:42 AM

I wish they had a bumper sticker on it.

"If found, please return to Earth, Sol System...NO REWARD"

/You don't want to offer a reward to aliens, they may think we have a lot more

SnarfVader		2012-12-04 11:34:03 AM

Mark Ratner		2012-12-04 11:48:15 AM

SnarfVader: [i212.photobucket.com image 368x500]

So, the caption in the picture is wrong and it didn't really exit the solar system back in 1990?

Gunny Walker		2012-12-04 11:52:24 AM

p51d007		2012-12-04 11:52:46 AM

He's probably waiting for Voyager, with his uranium Q38 explosive space modulator.

poietes.files.wordpress.com

akula		2012-12-04 11:53:23 AM

Mark Ratner: SnarfVader: [i212.photobucket.com image 368x500]

So, the caption in the picture is wrong and it didn't really exit the solar system back in 1990?

The definition of "exit the solar system" has been getting revised based on the Voyager probes. There's "out past the last planet," then there's "so far away the sun's own 'wind' is overcome by outside forces."

It's getting damn close to the latter, which is what makes it so amazing. We have had precious little idea about what it's like once you hit the heliopause.

Bit'O'Gristle		2012-12-04 11:53:51 AM

funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

chewielouie		2012-12-04 11:53:59 AM

Voyager > DS9

Fark Rye For Many Whores		2012-12-04 11:54:45 AM

He'll figure it out. We'll be fine, let's just wait.

Devolving_Spud		2012-12-04 11:55:48 AM

Subby wants a car that you add water to to make a sweet, orange-tasting beverage?

akula		2012-12-04 11:57:39 AM

Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

There's a huge difference in the kinds of miles traveled. Most semi tractors spend their time out on the highway at constant speed. That's much kinder to the equipment than constant acceleration, braking, and turning that one finds in more urbanized areas. Diesel engines also tend to be longer lived than their gasoline powered counterparts. Furthermore, a vehicle maintained with great interest by the user (when it earns your paycheck, you pay close attention to problems) is always going to last longer than one where the user pays no attention to the trouble light that looks like a little oil lamp.

stevie1der		2012-12-04 11:58:59 AM

Makh: It's a great big universe and we're all small and puny.

We're just tiny little specks about the size of Mickey Rooney!

mechgreg		2012-12-04 11:59:01 AM

Loaf's Tray		2012-12-04 12:00:54 PM

Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

The fact that they both have wheels is about all that those two vehicles have in common...

ginko		2012-12-04 12:02:18 PM

Mark Ratner: SnarfVader: [i212.photobucket.com image 368x500]

So, the caption in the picture is wrong and it didn't really exit the solar system back in 1990?

ftfa:
"Voyager 1 hit the outer sphere of the solar system, a region called the heliosphere, in 2004 and passed into the heliosheath, where the supersonic stream of particles from the sun - the so-called "solar wind" - slowed down and became turbulent.

That phase of the journey lasted for 5.5 years. Then the solar wind stopped moving and the magnetic field strengthened.

Based on an instrument that measures charged particles, Voyager entered the magnetic highway on July 28, 2012. The region was in flux for about a month and stabilized on Aug. 25"

So there are different degrees of "out of the solar system". It took 18 years to get beyond Solar winds and the path of excited particals from other sources. That's one heck of a boundry, very cool!

j__z		2012-12-04 12:02:21 PM

I'd like to see a few more deep space probes sent out. Seeing that those probes are 35 years old and weren't meant for interstellar studies, It be interesting to see what type of info new ones could send back

/I said probe...giggity.

Fark Rye For Many Whores		2012-12-04 12:03:34 PM

chewielouie: Voyager > DS9

images2.wikia.nocookie.net

germ78		2012-12-04 12:04:17 PM

Boy, don't you wish NASA ~~made cars~~ had a larger budget?

Yes.

SnarfVader		2012-12-04 12:04:17 PM

akula: Mark Ratner: SnarfVader: [i212.photobucket.com image 368x500]

So, the caption in the picture is wrong and it didn't really exit the solar system back in 1990?

The definition of "exit the solar system" has been getting revised based on the Voyager probes. There's "out past the last planet," then there's "so far away the sun's own 'wind' is overcome by outside forces."

It's getting damn close to the latter, which is what makes it so amazing. We have had precious little idea about what it's like once you hit the heliopause.

True. The definition of the outside of the solar system is constantly evolving. That picture was made a while ago and we've learned so much since the late 90's/ early 00's. I still think it's an amazing picture, despite the caption.

occamswrist		2012-12-04 12:04:28 PM

Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

Semis are measured in minutes, not miles.

Okieboy		2012-12-04 12:04:36 PM

I believe it refers to itself as VGER now

/Lt. ILIA was teh hawt

Biness		2012-12-04 12:05:44 PM

what a voyager may look like.

I love NASA so much. I wish we'd spend so much more on exploration. Apparently they're in the very early stages of developing a warp drive.

Whole Wheat		2012-12-04 12:05:56 PM

Thankfully I will long dead when it returns.

Headso		2012-12-04 12:07:06 PM

j__z: I'd like to see a few more deep space probes sent out. Seeing that those probes are 35 years old and weren't meant for interstellar studies, It be interesting to see what type of info new ones could send back

/I said probe...giggity.

Also, could we send one out these days with better propulsion technology that would move it out that far in less time? Does NASA have any stuff like that they are testing right now? what's the deal...

Biness		2012-12-04 12:07:14 PM

occamswrist: Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

Semis are measured in minutes, not miles.

perhaps thats why Han said the Millennium Falcon made the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs

Jon iz teh kewl		2012-12-04 12:07:32 PM

i misread this as "galaxy" instead of "solar system". man this is so gay..

Evil Mackerel		2012-12-04 12:07:47 PM

Subby, needs a 240 Volvo wagon.

CygnusDarius		2012-12-04 12:07:48 PM

germ78: Boy, don't you wish NASA ~~made cars~~ had a larger budget?

Yes.

Agreed.

Biness		2012-12-04 12:08:03 PM

Headso: j__z: I'd like to see a few more deep space probes sent out. Seeing that those probes are 35 years old and weren't meant for interstellar studies, It be interesting to see what type of info new ones could send back

/I said probe...giggity.

Also, could we send one out these days with better propulsion technology that would move it out that far in less time? Does NASA have any stuff like that they are testing right now? what's the deal...

i think New Horizons was designed for the Kuiper belt and beyond, once pluto is passed.

SnarfVader		2012-12-04 12:08:04 PM

Biness: [www.allpar.com image 576x129]

what a voyager may look like.

I love NASA so much. I wish we'd spend so much more on exploration. Apparently they're in the very early stages of developing a warp drive.

Your gif isn't working. Must be hot.

dittybopper		2012-12-04 12:08:07 PM

basemetal: Wake me up when it hits the ort cloud.

If you know what it is, they you Oort to know how it's spelled.

Biness		2012-12-04 12:08:57 PM

SnarfVader: Biness: [www.allpar.com image 576x129]

what a voyager may look like.

I love NASA so much. I wish we'd spend so much more on exploration. Apparently they're in the very early stages of developing a warp drive.

Your gif isn't working. Must be hot.

not a gif. just a jpeg. and hot as blazes. as hot as voyager is cold.

/its lonely out in space

KFBR392		2012-12-04 12:10:40 PM

Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

It's weird how rocks can last for millions of yeas but trees only last for century or two.

Apples to oranges.

1st - you're talking about diesels engines, which are simpler and over-built to handle the stress and of diesel combustion. Likewsie, the car is often overbuilt around the engine.

2nd - One is designed for handling, roominess, and ride comfort, the other is designed to haul stuff.

3rd - Most of those trucks receive constant maintenance.

4th - Cost. Obviously price ranges vary..but I've heard that $60,000 is the starting point with some of the nicer (newer) ones being $100,000+. Which is why they receive constant maintenance...it's cheaper to put money into maintenance every year than it is to buy a new truck. Especially when it costs so much to buy a new truck.

It's not that cars can't be made to last that long..it's that after 5-10 years..most people want to go out an get a new model.

Wade_Wilson		2012-12-04 12:11:21 PM

Okieboy: I believe it refers to itself as VGER now

/Lt. ILIA was teh hawt

Yeah, but her vow of celibacy was on record.

No boldly going there, sadly.

umad		2012-12-04 12:11:28 PM

Hey subby, your car could make it that far if it was accelerated to escape velocity and allowed to travel in a frictionless environment too.

SnarfVader		2012-12-04 12:12:19 PM

Biness: SnarfVader: Biness: [www.allpar.com image 576x129]

what a voyager may look like.

I love NASA so much. I wish we'd spend so much more on exploration. Apparently they're in the very early stages of developing a warp drive.

Your gif isn't working. Must be hot.

not a gif. just a jpeg. and hot as blazes. as hot as voyager is cold.

/its lonely out in space

i212.photobucket.com

You meant this?

dittybopper		2012-12-04 12:12:52 PM

Biness: i think New Horizons was designed for the Kuiper belt and beyond, once pluto is passed.

Yeah, if they can find an object close enough to its trajectory to study. Last I heard, they hadn't identified any.

JackieRabbit		2012-12-04 12:13:02 PM

SnarfVader: [i212.photobucket.com image 368x500]

While Voyager has long ago move beyond the planetary zone of our solar system, it has not technically left the solar system itself. It is currently in the heliosphere. Since the exact size of the heliosphere and the exact location of the heliopause (the edge) is not precisely known, no one knew exactly when Voyager would enter interstellar space. Voyager passed through the termination shock in 2004 and it was estimated that it would need 10 more years to reach the heliopause. Voyager has instruments on board to study the gravitational effects of the strong solar wind in this zone. One of the goals is to get a better map of the heliosphere.

/source NASA

Waxing_Chewbacca		2012-12-04 12:13:07 PM

Biness: occamswrist: Bit'O'Gristle: funny how we make cars to last only about 1ook miles, but a semi can last over a million.

Semis are measured in minutes, not miles.

perhaps thats why Han said the Millennium Falcon made the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs

That's impossible

SuddenlySamhain		2012-12-04 12:13:32 PM

I turned off my TV so I could read this article without distractions.
I dont know much,But I know that Voyagers journey is a marvell that almost defies description.Part of me envies the things it will see over the next several hundred thousand years and part of me feels a bit forlorn that there may be no one left on Earth to share in its discoveries.

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