Voyager Two, an interplanetary probe that was designed to observe and transmit information

back to Earth about our Solar systems largest planets.

Equipped with a payload of scientific instruments, the probe provided scientists with a wealth

of data, allowing us to explore the mysterious gas giants like never before.

Launched in August 1977, Voyager two and its twin Voyager one took advantage of a rare

planetary alignment that takes place every 176 years, providing the opportunity to fly

by Jupiter and then Saturn. Unlike its twin, Voyager twos designed trajectory,

meant that the probe was also able to continue to Uranus and Neptune. Becoming the first

and currently the only spacecraft to visit the solar systems outer planets, the ice giants.

Voyager two passed the mighty Jupiter in July 1979, nearly two years after it was launched

and captured incredible images of the gas giant and its many moons.

Then in August 1981, the probe arrived at Saturn, transmitting back many more spectacular

images of the planets magnificent rings, atmosphere and moons.

It would take another 4 and half years of travelling through the cold, dark expanse

of space however before we would get the first close up glimpse of the mysterious, Uranus.

In January 1986, Voyager two made its closest approach to Uranus, observing the mysterious

planets fascinating features, such as its moons, rings, atmosphere, internal structure

and magnetic environment. At this point, Voyager two was around 1.8

billion miles away from Earth, which is around 2.9 billion kilometres away and nearly 10

years into its historic mission. During the flyby, the resilient probe discovered

11 new moons, all of which were named after Shakespearean characters. Puck, Portia, Juliet,

Cressida, Rosalind, Belinda, Desdemona, Perdita, Cordelia, Ophelia and Bianca.

We were able to see spectacular close up photos of moons that we already knew existed in orbit

around Uranus, including Miranda, a moon with a jumbled up surface that appears as though

it was pushed together and broken apart several times.

Four other large moons were also closely photographed for the first time allowing us to observe

Oberon, Ariel, Umbriel and Titania, revealing their amazing geology.

As Voyager two completed its short flyby it studied the Uranian rings, nine of which were

already known to exist and two newly discovered by the spacecraft.

The rings turned out it be distinctly different from those found circling Jupiter or Saturn

and may be relatively young, likely not forming at the same time as Uranus. One theory is

that the particles that make up the rings may be the remnants of ancient moons that

collided and broke apart Observing the Uranian atmosphere, Voyager

two sent back photographs of a mostly featureless light blue planet, but it did record wind

speeds as high as 450 miles per hour, which 720 kilometres per hour and found evidence

of a deep, icy ocean. But this strange icy ocean isn't as we understand

it here on Earth, instead, it would be a highly pressurised, hot, dense fluid consisting of

water, ammonia and other substances. Data also revealed that the atmosphere is

similar to Jupiter and Saturn, being mainly composed of hydrogen and helium, but also

methane, making the planet a beautiful light blue.

Scientists had already discovered that Uranus was tilted on its side by 98 degrees before

Voyager two had arrived there, possibly as a result of an ancient catastrophic collision.

However the spacecraft did detect another bizarre feature on the ice Giant, it's mysterious

magnetosphere. The Uranian magnetic field is tilted by 59

degrees from the axis of rotation and does not pass straight through the centre of the

planet like many other planetary fields. This unusual arrangement creates an irregular field

and even today, scientists are unsure of what is causing this strange non-uniform phenomenon.

Voyager two came within 51,000 miles or 81,500 kilometres of the ice Giants cloud tops, allowing

the incredible probe to study the mysterious planet for around 5.5 hours during the historic

flyby. Then in February 1986, the spacecraft performed

a manoeuvre called a gravity assist that propelled it into the direction of the next and last

planet in the solar system, the magnificent, Neptune.

Like Uranus, Neptune had never been visited before and so Voyager two would become the

first-ever spacecraft to pass the distant blue planet. In August 1989, after a journey

that spanned 4.3 billion miles or 7 billion kilometres since it left Earth, the ambitious

probe arrived at its last planned destination. During the flyby, Voyager two found six new

moons that were later named Proteus, Larissa, Despina, Galatea, Thalassa and Naiad. But

it also photographed other already known moons, such as Neptune's largest, Triton.

Triton was revealed to be not only the most intriguing natural satellite in the Neptunian

system but one of the most interesting in all the solar system. These incredible images

present a bitterly cold moon with a remarkable geological history and even show an active

geyser-like eruption spewing invisible nitrogen gas out into space.

Tritons relatively high density and retrograde orbit also offer strong evidence that the

strange moon is not an original member of Neptune's family, instead, a captured object

from somewhere else. As Voyager two passed Neptune at just 3000

miles or 4,800 kilometres above the ice Giants cloud tops, the spacecraft detected a highly

active atmosphere, with wind speeds far exceeding 680 miles per hour, which 1,100 kilometres

an hour, the fastest detected during the entire journey.

Like the other gas giants, hydrogen and helium were found to be the most common element,

although the planets magnificent cobalt blue appearance is once again due to the presence

of methane. Originally it was thought that Neptune was

too cold to support atmospheric disturbances, however, Voyager two discovered large scale

storms, the largest was named the great dark spot.

This hurricane-like storm was about the size of Earth at the time and similar to Jupiters

Great Red Spot. But Neptune's massive storm didn't seem to last very long, at least by

giant planet standards, as just five years later the Hubble space telescope revealed

that the great dark spot had already dissipated. Voyager two also photographed four new rings

and revealed why Neptune's ring system is so faint, mainly because of the fine material

that its made up from. It confirmed that all of the solar systems gas giants have rings

and that known of them are as spectacular as Saturn's, although they are all fascinating

in their own way. After 12 years in deep space and successfully

exploring all four of our solar systems largest planets, Voyager two had finally completed

its initial mission. The amazing spacecraft studied different aspects

of the gas giants and allowed scientists to solve many of there mysteries. But the grand

tour of the outer planets had now come to an end.

Neptune was the last close encounter Voyager two will make for possibly millions of years,

but it will come relatively close to certain stars in the future as it silently drifts

through interstellar space, the place that is is currently exploring. After 43 years

in space Voyager two is still making discovers, etching its self into the history books as

one of the greatest and most resilient spacecraft ever to leave our planet. An achievement that

all of humanity can be proud of. If you would like to learn more about where

voyager two is predicted to be heading next then check out the video shown at the end

of this video. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Voyager twos incredible journey out

of the solar system, if you did then please hit the like button and subscribe for much

more to come. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you next time.