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voyager 1 is a space probe launched by nasa on september 5th 1977. as part of the voyager program
to study the outer solar system and interstellar space beyond the sun's heliosphere more than
four decades after its launch the voyager 1 probe is still exploring interstellar space
but it has encountered an issue that mystifies and baffles the spacecraft's team on earth voyager 1
continues to operate well despite its advanced age and 14.5 billion mile distance from earth
and it can receive and execute commands sent from nasa as well as gather and send back science data
but the readouts from the attitude articulation and control system or aacs which control the
spacecraft's orientation in space don't match up with what voyager is actually doing
the aacs ensures that the probe's high gain antenna remains pointed
at earth so voyager can send data back to nasa
due to voyager's interstellar location it takes light 20 hours and 33 minutes to travel one way
so the call and response of one message between nasa and voyager take two days
so far the voyager team believes the aacs is still working but the instrument's data
readouts seem random or impossible the system issue hasn't triggered anything to put the
spacecraft into safe mode yet that's when only essential operations occur so engineers can
diagnose an issue that would put the spacecraft at risk and voyager signal is as strong as ever
meaning the antenna is still pointed toward earth the team is trying to determine if this
incorrect data is coming directly from this instrument or if another system is causing it
according to a nasa release until the nature of the issue is better understood the team cannot
anticipate whether this might affect how long the spacecraft can collect and transmit science data
a mystery like this is sort of par for the course at this stage of the voyager mission said suzanne
dodd project manager for voyager 1 and 2 at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory in a statement the
spacecraft are both almost 45 years old which is far beyond what the mission planners anticipated
it's also an interstellar space a high radiation environment that no spacecraft has flown in before
so there are bound to be some big challenges for the engineering team
if the team doesn't determine the source of the issue they may just adapt to it
or if they can find it the issue may be solved by making a software change or relying on a
redundant hardware system voyager has already relied on backup systems to last as long
as it has in 2017 the probe fired thrusters that were used during its initial planetary
encounters during the 1970s and they still worked after remaining unused for 37 years
the aging probes produce very little power per year so subsystems and heaters have been turned
off over the years so that critical systems and science instruments can keep operating
voyager 2 a twin spacecraft continues to operate well in interstellar space 12.1 billion miles from
earth by comparison neptune the farthest planet from earth is at most only 2.9 billion miles away
both probes were launched in 1977 and have far exceeded their original purpose to fly by planets
now they have become the only two spacecraft to gather data
from interstellar space and provide insights about the heliosphere or the
bubble created by the sun that extends beyond the planets in our solar system
here's hoping the voyager team is able to determine the issue or find a way around it
so the voyager can continue with the great work it has done for the past 45 years if you like this
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welcome to lab 360. for all the news and videos from the world of astronomy the hubble space
telescope was launched into earth's orbit by the space shuttle discovery about 32 years ago
since then the school bus sized telescope has been circling the earth at 17 000 miles per hour
observing far away nebulae galaxies and on rare occasions objects in our own solar system
in fact hubble has spent only six percent of its time researching solar system targets
so far in its life regardless hubble is vital to planetary scientists in a way that the new
james webb space telescope will never be as part of its outer planet's atmosphere's legacy program
hubble sends back photos of the large planets notably jupiter and saturn every year
so scientists may study for changes in their storms winds and clouds astronomers
have already run out of time to explore the many smaller worlds in the outer solar system
using hubble once a year glances aren't much and hubble isn't getting younger the new jwst
will examine some solar system targets such as jupiter's great red spot
but it will primarily focus on deep space because of its ability to capture infrared light
in either case we may soon be without an eye in the sky capable of transmitting images
of planets comets asteroid and making new discoveries consider what planetary
scientists could accomplish if a telescope is always focusing on solar system objects
is a specialized solar system space telescope ssst required let us start by telling you
what exactly is the solar system space telescope and what does it do
it's a large or medium-sized space telescope devoted to planetary research
and observations of targets throughout the solar system we're talking about observations in
visible and ultraviolet wavelengths with excellent resolution and sensitivity hubble can do it right
now but web which mostly observes in the infrared can't the proposal for this project is doing the
rounds at nasa and the authors want the ssst to be considered for one of nasa's new frontier missions
the estimated cost is around 815 million dollars which is a bargain considering
that the jwsd cost 10 billion dollars so what is the purpose of the solar system space telescope
to aid astronomers in their understanding of time-dependent events in our solar system
such as seasonal changes on planets dust storms and even rare comet attacks
as well as a thorough examination of small bodies across the solar system
this new telescope will be able to observe the volcanic activity on venus and titan
look for water vapor on the moons of uranus study irregular satellites and kuiper belt objects among
other things you might be wondering why can't we just use the jwst web is fantastic it has a
6.6 meter mirror which is six times more powerful than the hubble space telescope's 2.4 meter mirror
but it doesn't have the high frequency that is required for uv light observations
which is crucial for uncovering the mysteries in the solar system in short jwst is intended
to answer questions in astrophysics rather than planetary astronomy let's talk a bit more about
the solar system space telescope shall we we're talking about a 10 meter telescope here although
it is intended to be distinct from the jwst the ssd incorporates some of the jwsd's technologies
because solar system objects are often bright it doesn't have to be very sensitive
therefore it uses a sparse aperture design to achieve an extremely clear
detailed image a sun shield is also not required it will be observing the planets in our solar
system but another area for ripe exploration would be the small cold and dark bodies in
the outer solar system which jwst may find but won't have the time to properly characterize
some of the tiny bodies known to science contain rings that have never been investigated
including jupiter saturn uranus and neptune's ring systems the hubble space telescope has
done some incredible work and calling the jwst its successor is a mistake there is soon to be a major
gap in our ability to investigate what's going on in our own solar system which can only be bridged
by launching a new space telescope dedicated to planetary science what do you guys think
drop in your comments below and don't forget to subscribe to lab360 for all the news and videos
from the world of astronomy welcome to lab 360 where we give you all the latest news from the
world of astronomy for years astronomers have known that the earth orbits the sun and that the
sun slowly revolves around the enigmatic center of our galaxy until now the milky way's core
has been only speculated about by analyzing its gravitational impact on its surroundings in space
astronomers have long questioned what lies at the center of the milky way galaxy
decades of calculations and evidence suggest that at the center of our home galaxy
there lies a supermassive black hole about 4 million times more massive than our sun
humans on the other hand have never seen it is that going to change soon we believe so
scientists have released the first ever image of the supermassive black hole that lurks there
providing a radically new perspective on our home galaxy the historic image of sagittarius a
taken by a global telescope array known as the event horizon telescope eht indicates a black
hole in the milky way's heart which is feasting on hydrogen gas the event horizon telescope
first made headlines in 2019 when it captured the first image of messier 87's black hole
but this new discovery has gotten scientists bouncing with joy in their seats the eht observed
sagittarius a the milky way's supermassive black hole at the same moment it obtained the data that
generated that image sagittarius a on the other hand proved more difficult to photograph than
m87 for one the eht submillimeter radio waves are absorbed by earth's water-laden atmosphere
furthermore in the 27 000 light years between us and sagittarius a
gas and dust have scattered the submillimeter wavelengths and obscured the image
finally m87s black hole has a voracious appetite and seems bright because it is eating a lot of gas
whereas the material flow into sagittarius a is considerably more feeble
resulting in a much fainter object it wasn't simple to capture this image it took years
to perfect the photograph and validate their suspicions black holes are the densest things
in the universe and their gravity is so strong that not even light can escape from within
the telescope can detect light in the form of radio waves emitted by hot gas swirling near
the event horizon the stuff within the black hole's immediate vicinity feeds it whether it
is gas clouds asteroids or even stars that go too close and are ripped apart by gravitational tides
sagittarius a on the other hand is starving the hot gas surrounding sagittarius a is crucial for
accretion studies because it will tell us how much material is captured from the nearby stars
but currently nasa doesn't have this vital information and can't determine
as to why this black hole is starving the event horizon of sagittarius a is 51.
eight micro arcade seconds across the sky according to the latest photograph
the researchers called the image as the biggest test of einstein's theory of
general relativity ever made emphasizing that the theory passed with flying colors
it's an ideal setting for studying how gravity behaves in the vicinity of a gigantic black hole
our explanations for the turbulence in the gas ring are less certain because m 87's black hole
is far larger than sagittarius a it takes days for changes to appear but sagittarius a is much
smaller and the brightness of the ring can vary in minutes as material whips around it
apart from giving photographic proof that sagittarius exists the new image also supports
the hypothesis that the supermassive black hole at the center of the milky way is rotating
it also allowed eht researchers to determine the black hole's orientation in relation to earth
to reach this groundbreaking result more than 300 international scientists support staff and
eight radio observatories from around the world collaborated together the EHT team announced that
tens of millions of photos from its global network of radio telescopes were combined to create
the final image that was shared with the globe today the team intends to share more photographs
and videos of other black holes following their pioneering new discovery of the milky way's core
the team has already given us a new viewpoint on the universe validating Einstein's theories
in the process and all that remains is for them to keep going in the same direction
these are exciting times for science 2022 has been delightful so far well done nasa
what do you guys have to say drop in your comments below and don't forget to subscribe to lab360
for all the latest news from the world of astronomy