[foxdemon]

NASA scientists announced that the Voyager 1 probe has left the solar system and entered interstellar space. Actually the date for this event was 25 August 2012, however it has taken this long to process enough data to confirm it.

Read more here.

[Siberian Fox]

New and unexpected data indicate Voyager 1 has been traveling for about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space between stars. Voyager is in a transitional region immediately outside the solar bubble, where some effects from our sun are still evident.

Does this mean that the spacecraft will eventually stop and will never reach another star? Or is the density much too low for that?

[Social_Critic]

Density is much too low. It's a hard vacuum. But a hard vacuum can still hold a few atoms here and there. Eventually the craft will enter a different system, but it may take a while (I don't think it was actually aimed therefore it could go on for quite a LNG time before it approaches another star).

[Potemkin]

The interstellar medium is a harder vacuum than anything we can achieve on Earth, with all our technology. There are only a few atoms per cubic metre.

[Oxymoron]

Are we ready for the return of Veegeer

[foxdemon]

Does this mean that the spacecraft will eventually stop and will never reach another star? Or is the density much too low for that?

Potemkin is correct. A gas cloud in space, a nebula, is lower density than our best laboratory vacuum. And those are the density regions of space. However. I wonder about the chance of either Voyager probe reaching a star due to the low chance of interception. It is nice to know that some evidence of our existence will survive indefinitely. Or should it be considered littering?

[mikema63]

It will probably just crash into some alien ship and they'll sue us for damages.

[Potemkin]

Damn, there goes our no-claims bonus.

[mikema63]

It wouldn't surprise me if some insurance agency were selling the American government space insurance.

[Russkie]

You guys realize that is unlikely that we will ever meet any intelligent creatures out there.

[mikema63]

Shut up!!!

[Russkie]

Shut up!!!

I know its hard to accept The Truth.

[roxunreal]

I'm sure Russia will now send a secret space submarine to claim ownership of interstellar space.

[Igor Antunov]

Until it clears the Oort debris cloud, which is 1 light year away, it hasn't left shit.

[Someone5]

You guys realize that is unlikely that we will ever meet any intelligent creatures out there.

That just means the premiums for space insurance would be very low.

[Figlio di Moros]

Until it clears the Oort debris cloud, which is 1 light year away, it hasn't left shit.

Pretty much- I wonder if it's projected to enter another solar system, and when, if we get off our asses and actually start exploring space and pushing our boundaries again, we'll shoot past it and look back on it as an interesting historic event.

"Hey, Bob, voyager's entering out star system for about twenty years. Want to look at our system through the lens of the late twentieth century?"

"Meh, I might log onto the site if I get bored later."