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Old July 22nd, 2017 #28
Mike in Denver
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Under the Panopticon.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Allan View Post
Pioneer 10/11 plaque.

Voyager 1/2 plaque and golden record 'Sounds of Earth.'
I am gigantically in favor of manned space travel. However until there is some true breakthrough in technology, interstellar is just a dream. Pioneer is headed toward the star Aldebaran. If nothing goes wrong it will approach Aldebaran in about 2 million years.

Voyager is on the fast track. It is about 11.7 billion miles from Earth. The nearest star is about 27 trillion miles from earth. Voyager is not headed there, it is headed, roughly, toward a star called AC +79 3888, about 17.6 light years from earth. It will only approach about 1.7 light years, but it will be there in a snap, about 68,000 years.

Both Pioneers, and both Voyagers are essentially still in our neighborhood. The edge of our solar system is a debatable subject. Astronomers and Astrophysicists argue, but the Pioneers and Voyagers won't be displaying their graphics to anyone for many thousands or even millions of years.

That is unless the aliens come here. And I hope they do.

Mike
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Last edited by Mike in Denver; July 22nd, 2017 at 07:09 PM.