Sometimes we miss the bigger picture, because we’re too focused on: our families, friends, work, school, hobbies, problems, and goals. They make our world seem massive. Then you get those few bliss moments to yourself. Perhaps your belly is full after an amazing dinner cooked by your significant other, and you’re relaxing on your back porch swing. You glance up. What do you see at night? Maybe some birds flying through the breeze, wispy clouds, and the moon. Past that, the unknown stars capture your attention, and all of a sudden you realize everything is hundreds of millions of miles away. You, your home, the new fashion trend, and Earth are actually small in relative to the Universe.
Compared to the sun, Earth is like a teeny freckle. If we’re so tiny, and I mean really tiny, then what else is out there?
Voyagers One and Two are probes and in 1977 were launched into outer space. They take measurements and have the capability to send back videos and pictures. Just two years into their journeys, they reached Jupiter and discovered its ring. They also discovered the first active volcano on one of Jupiter’s 67 (and counting) moons. (Angrum)
Voyager One passed Neptune, dwarf planets (Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake), and a comet belt called Kuiper Belt. The space probe stumbled across an unexpected layer of the heliosphere. Yes, Voyager One discovered what is to be believed as the last region of our solar system and passed it. (Moskowitz)Thirty six years after its launch date, scientists confirmed it said adios to our solar system and Voyager Two isn’t far behind. Do you ever get home sick? Imagine being 11.7 billion miles from home. Yikes! (James T. Shipman 451) In this image, Voyager One is shown farther out than Voyager Two.
Imagine the possibilities of new discoveries they could send back to us. As much as I hate cliff hangers, the next closest star is 40,000 years away. Talk about a long wait, but that’s not it. There’s more bad news, the Voyagers will run out of power long before reaching it. Whatever new galaxies, new solar systems, new planets will have to stay hidden until we have better and faster technology.
Angrum, Author not listed-Webpage manager Andrea. http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/jupiter.html. 11 June 2014.
James T. Shipman, Jerry D. Wilson, Charles A. Higgins, Jr., Omar Torres. An Introduction to Phsical Science Fourteenth Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2015.
Moskowitz, Clara. Space.com. 3 December 2012.
