In
a major milestone, NASA has reported that the Voyager I spacecraft may
be close to becoming the first human creation ever to cross the
invisible boundary separating our solar system from interstellar space. A
surge of new data shows that the probe has been encountering a huge
uptick in galactic cosmic rays — a key factor that would signify that
the Voyager has, indeed, left the building.
To be absolutely sure, scientists are relying on a couple of other
key criteria. In addition to the uptick of certain particles, the
presence of another particle would have to decrease completely. And
while that number is not at zero, there has been a slow decline, which
physicists expect to change dramatically when the spacecraft crosses the
barrier. The magnetic field surrounding the spacecraft would also
completely change, from east-west to north-south. The problem is that no
one is sure if there will be a definitive moment when the Voyager
crosses the threshold.
“The laws of physics say that someday Voyager will become the first
human-made object to enter interstellar space, but we still do not know
exactly when that someday will be,” said Ed Stone, a physicist and
professor at the California Institute of Technology on the project.
Whenever Voyager crosses that threshold, it would certainly go down
as a pivotal moment in space history, akin to when Sputnik became the
first artificial satellite to be launched into Earth’s orbit in 1956.
Traveling at a speed of about 38,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft
is estimated to be almost 11 billion miles away from the Earth. As a
result, it takes scientists nearly 17 hours to receive data from the
probe. The Voyager was originally launched back in 1977.
The significance of the new developments was not lost on Stone. “The
latest data indicate that we are clearly in a new region where things
are changing more quickly. It is very exciting. We are approaching the
solar system’s frontier.”
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