TheVoyager 2probe was launch in 1977 to study the four giant planet of the Solar System . Over 40 years later , and having travel almost 17.7 billion kilometers ( slightly less than 11 billion miles ) , the spacecraft might be draw close one of the bounds of the Solar System , the end of the heliosphere . It could presently be joining its twin , Voyager 1 , and become the second human - made object to enter interstellar quad .
The heliosphere is the region of place dominated by the solar malarkey and magnetized fields . Beyond it , the hydrogen and helium gas that filter our galaxy becomes dominant . Beyond the heliosphere , cosmic ray become more common as they are deviate less and less by material from the Sun , and Voyager 2 has record an increase of close to 5 per centum since early August , hinting at its destination .
This is very standardized to what Voyager 1 construe in May 2012 , just three month before it baffle the heliopause , the outer sharpness of the heliosphere . And for this reason , researchers think that Voyager 2 is about to take the momentous human activity of crossing that boundary .
" We ’re examine a change in the surround around Voyager 2 , there ’s no doubt about that , " said Ed Stone , Voyager project scientist based at Caltech in Pasadena , in astatement .
" We ’re going to learn a hatful in the come months , but we still do n’t have sex when we ’ll achieve the heliopause . We ’re not there yet – that ’s one thing I can say with confidence . "
Voyager 2 is one of the many lookout far aside from Earth that study the changes of our Sun and how they feign our major planet , other planet , and the Solar System as a whole . Voyager 2 is give researchers the furthest perspective on this captivating area of scientific discipline .
The heliosphere is often referred to as a bubble but it is not exactly a sphere and it does shift . It depends strongly on the activity from the Sun , and as our star move through its 11 - year cycle , it expands and contracts . Voyager 1 has already gone into interstellar space because it propel much faster and is much further out – it ’s the furthest human being - made object from Earth – but also the changes in the heliosphere size might be relevant . It will be interesting to see how different the experience of Voyager 2 is from Voyager 1 .
you could follow the progress of both spacecrafthere , as NASA tracks their distance from both Earth and the Sun .
