next solar system? How far is the next galaxy?
2007-11-27 09:10:57 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The voyager 1 and 2 and pioneer 10 and 11 space craft. They have not gone far enough to get near another star though. They will run out of power long before they do.
2007-11-27 09:18:04 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As others have said, the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft have left the solar system. At present, the Voyager 1 is about 104 times as far from the sun as the earth is. In contrast, the nearest star is about 250,000 times as far away as the earth. That is only about 4.3 light years away. The nearest big galaxy (there are closer small galaxies) is about 2 million light years away.
In other words, yes, they have left our solar system, but just barely.
2007-11-27 17:42:17 · answer #2 · answered by mathematician 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Voyage 1 has left the solar system. Although it will not reach any other solar systems or galaxies, around 2020, Voyager 1 is expected to reach the heliopause at roughly 135 Astronomical Units (AU, 1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun). This is where the Sun's influence fades away entirely and interstellar space begins. Astronomers will then get their first chance to measure the magnetic fields and energetic particles of interstellar space.
2007-11-27 17:19:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋