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Interstellar Probe
An interstellar probe is a space probe that has left—or is expected to leave—the Solar System and enter interstellar space, which is typically defined as the region beyond the heliopause. It also refers to probes capable of reaching other star systems. There are five interstellar probes, all launched by the American space agency NASA: ''Voyager 1'', ''Voyager 2'', ''Pioneer 10'', ''Pioneer 11'' and ''New Horizons''. As of 2019, ''Voyager 1'', ''Voyager 2'' and ''Pioneer 10'' are the only probes to have actually reached interstellar space. The other two are on interstellar trajectories. The termination shock is the point in the heliosphere where the solar wind slows down to subsonic speed. Even though the termination shock happens as close as 80–100 AU (astronomical units) the maximum extent of the region in which the Sun's gravitational field is dominant (the Hill sphere) is thought to be at around . This point is close to the nearest known star system, Alpha Centauri, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstellar Probes (cropped)
Interstellar or Interstella may refer to: Space * Interstellar space ** Interstellar medium * Interstellar travel * Interstellar communication * Interstellar probe ** Interstellar Probe (spacecraft) (ISP), a NASA probe proposed in 2018 for launch in the 2030s. ** Interstellar Express (IHP), Chinese probes proposed in 2019 for launch in 2024. Art, entertainment, and media Films and soundtracks * '' Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem'', an animated film set to Daft Punk's album ''Discovery'' * ''Interstellar'' (film), a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan ** ''Interstellar'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the 2014 film ''Interstellar'' Music Groups * Intastella, a band in the second wave of the Manchester music scene * Interstellar (band), a Canadian rock band Albums *'' Interstellar Space,'' John Coltrane album * ''Interstellar: The String Quartet Tribute to Interpol'', an album by Vitamin String Quartet Songs * "Interstellar", a track f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Unit
The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits the Sun, from a maximum (aphelion) to a minimum (perihelion) and back again once each year. The astronomical unit was originally conceived as the average of Earth's aphelion and perihelion; however, since 2012 it has been defined as exactly (see below for several conversions). The astronomical unit is used primarily for measuring distances within the Solar System or around other stars. It is also a fundamental component in the definition of another unit of astronomical length, the parsec. History of symbol usage A variety of unit symbols and abbreviations have been in use for the astronomical unit. In a 1976 resolution, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) had used the symbol ''A'' to denote a length equal to the astronomic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heavens-Above
Heavens-Above is a non-profit website developed and maintained by Chris Peat as ''Heavens-Above GmbH''. The web site is dedicated to helping people observe and track satellites orbiting the Earth without the need for optical equipment such as binoculars or telescopes. It provides detailed star charts showing the trajectory of the satellites against the background of the stars as seen during a pass. Special attention is paid to the ISS, Starlink satellites, and others. Space Shuttle missions were tracked until the program was retired in July 2011 and Iridium flares were also tracked until the program was retired in May 2018. The website also offers information on currently visible comets, asteroids, planet details, and other miscellaneous information. ''Sky & Telescope'' magazine described Heavens-Above as "the most popular website for tracking satellites." Users click on a map of the world to set their viewing location. Lists of objects, their brightness and the time and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voyager Spacecraft
The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2''. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, to fly near them while collecting data for transmission back to Earth. After launch the decision was taken to send ''Voyager 2'' near Uranus and Neptune to collect data for transmission back to Earth. As of 2022, the Voyagers are still in operation past the outer boundary of the heliosphere in interstellar space. They collect and transmit useful data to Earth. , ''Voyager 1'' was moving with a velocity of , or 17 km/s, relative to the Sun, and was from the Sun reaching a distance of from Earth as of February 10, 2022. On 25 August 2012, data from ''Voyager 1'' indicated that it had entered interstellar space. , ''Voyager 2'' was moving with a velocity of , or 15 km/s, relative to the Sun, and was from the Sun reaching a distance of from Earth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Sail
An electric sail (also known as an electric solar wind sail or an E-sail) is a proposed form of spacecraft propulsion using the dynamic pressure of the solar wind as a source of thrust. It creates a "virtual" sail by using small wires to form an electric field that deflects solar wind protons and extracts their momentum. The idea was first conceptualised by Pekka Janhunen in 2006 at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Principles of operation and design The electric sail consists of a number of thin, long and conducting tethers which are kept in a high positive potential by an onboard electron gun. The positively charged tethers deflect solar wind protons, thus extracting momentum from them. Simultaneously they attract electrons from the solar wind plasma, producing an electron current. The electron gun compensates for the arriving electric current. One way to deploy the tethers is to rotate the spacecraft, using centrifugal force to keep them stretched. By fine-tuning the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quarterly Journal Of The Royal Astronomical Society
''Astronomy & Geophysics'' (''A&G'') is a scientific journal and trade magazine published on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) by Oxford University Press. It publishes a mixture of content of interest to astronomers and geophysicists: news reports, interviews, topical reviews, historical investigations, obituaries, meeting reports and updates on the activities of the RAS. Full-length articles are peer reviewed. A&G was formed in 1997 as a 'glossy' replacement for the ''Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (QJRAS; 1960–1996); it continues the same volume numbering from QJRAS. Since its inception and to date the editor is Sue Bowler of the University of Leeds. Scope The journal covers astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, solar-terrestrial physics, global and regional geophysics, and the history of these subjects. It also publishes thematic articles regarding interdisciplinary research, science policy, news, opinions, correspondence, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ross 248
Ross 248, also called HH Andromedae or Gliese 905, is a small star approximately from Earth in the northern constellation of Andromeda. Despite its proximity it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye. It was first catalogued by Frank Elmore Ross in 1926 with his second list of proper-motion stars; on which count it ranks 261st in the SIMBAD database. It was too dim to be included in the Hipparcos survey. In about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will pass 1.7 light-years (9.7 trillion miles) from the star. Within the next 80,000 years, Ross 248 is predicted to be the nearest star to the Sun for a brief time, overtaking the current nearest star, the triple system Alpha Centauri. Characteristics This star has about 14% of the Sun's mass and 19% of the Sun's radius, but only 0.2% of the Sun's luminosity. It has a stellar classification of M6 V, which indicates it is a type of main-sequence star known as a red dwarf. This is a chromospherically-active star. With h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breakthrough Initiatives
Breakthrough Initiatives is a science-based program founded in 2015 and funded by Julia and Yuri Milner, also of Breakthrough Prize, to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over a span of at least 10 years. The program is divided into multiple projects. Breakthrough Listen will comprise an effort to search over 1,000,000 stars for artificial radio or laser signals. A parallel project called Breakthrough Message is an effort to create a message "representative of humanity and planet Earth". The project Breakthrough Starshot, co-founded with Mark Zuckerberg, aims to send a swarm of probes to the nearest star at about 20% the speed of light. The project Breakthrough Watch aims to identify and characterize Earth-sized, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri and other stars within 20 light years of Earth. Breakthrough plans to send a mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus, in search for life in its warm ocean, and in 2018 signed a partnership agreement with NASA for the project. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
StarChip (spacecraft)
Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the Breakthrough Initiatives to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail interstellar probes named ''Starchip'', to be capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri star system 4.37 light-years away. It was founded in 2016 by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg. A flyby mission has been proposed to Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone of its host star, Proxima Centauri, in the Alpha Centauri system. At a speed between 15% and 20% of the speed of light, it would take between twenty and thirty years to complete the journey, and approximately four years for a return message from the starship to Earth. The conceptual principles to enable this interstellar travel project were described in "A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight", by Philip Lubin of UC Santa Barbara.(file available at University of California, Santa Barbarhere Accessed 16 April 2016) Sending the ligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstellar Probe (spacecraft)
''Interstellar Probe'' (''ISP'') is a proposed NASA space probe designed to explore and characterize the heliosphere and interstellar space. The study was originally proposed in 2018 by NASA for the Applied Physics Laboratory. It would have a baseline launch between 2036 and 2041. The probe would launch on a direct hyperbolic trajectory to encounter Jupiter after six to seven months, after which the probe would travel at a speed of about per year, leaving the heliosphere after only 16 years. The probe may have the opportunity to encounter minor planets on the way out, including Orcus and Quaoar, though such flybys would require specific launch dates. With next-generation radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), the mission would be designed to last for over fifty years after its launch, a similar feat reached by the ''Voyager 1'' and '' 2'' probes despite their intended 5-year lifetime. The mission has been called "''Voyager'' on steroids". Mission background Interstell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstellar Express
''Interstellar Express'' or ''Interstellar Heliosphere Probe'' (), is the current name for a proposed Chinese National Space Administration program designed to explore the heliosphere and interstellar space. The program will feature two space probes that will purportedly be launched in 2024 and follow differing trajectories to encounter Jupiter to assist them out of the Solar System. The first probe, ''IHP-1'', will travel toward the nose of the heliosphere, while the second probe, ''IHP-2'', will fly near to the tail, skimming by Neptune and Triton in January 2038. There may be another probe—tentatively ''IHP-3''—which would launch in 2030 to explore to the northern half of the heliosphere. ''IHP-1'' and ''IHP-2'' would be the sixth and seventh spacecraft to leave the Solar System, as well as first non-NASA probes to achieve this status. History The heliosphere and the interstellar medium have so far been explored by only three NASA probes: ''Voyager 1'', ''Voyager 2' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escape Velocity
In celestial mechanics, escape velocity or escape speed is the minimum speed needed for a free, non- propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body, thus reaching an infinite distance from it. It is typically stated as an ideal speed, ignoring atmospheric friction. Although the term "escape velocity" is common, it is more accurately described as a speed than a velocity because it is independent of direction; the escape speed increases with the mass of the primary body and decreases with the distance from the primary body. The escape speed thus depends on how far the object has already traveled, and its calculation at a given distance takes into account that without new acceleration it will slow down as it travels—due to the massive body's gravity—but it will never quite slow to a stop. A rocket, continuously accelerated by its exhaust, can escape without ever reaching escape speed, since it continues to add kinetic energy from its engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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