A new study recently suggested that the exploratory spacecraftlaunched by NASA some 35-and-a-half years ago has gone beyond theheliosphere – our corner of space dominated by the influence of theSun - and has experienced massive changes in radiation levels.However, the US space agency said on Wednesday that it’s tooearly to celebrate, describing the current report as “prematureand incorrect” in a statement to AFP.The initial study on cosmic rays and radiation was published inthe scientific journal, Geophysical Research Letters, purportingthat the spacecraft left our solar system in August of 2012. The845 kg space probe has been experiencing drastic changes inradiation levels since supposedly leaving the heliosphere,scientists say. Such changes in levels of cosmic radiation have notbeen witnessed since the spacecraft’s launch on August 25th 1977,and are consistent with galactic rays outside of our sun’sneighborhood.“Within just a few days, the heliospheric intensity oftrapped radiation decreased, and the cosmic ray intensity went upas you would expect if it exited the heliosphere,” said BillWebber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New Mexico StateUniversity in Las Cruces.But while Webber never claimed he knew for sure that the crafthad left our solar system entirely, fresh evidence from NASAappears to say with certainty it has not. In December 2012, the USspace agency reported that it had reached a new region called the‘magnetic highway’, but that is still not outside our solar system,although quite close.Edward Stone, a project scientist with the Voyager team, saidthat “a change in the direction of the magnetic field is thelast critical indicator of reaching interstellar space and thatchange of direction has not yet been observed.”Voyager 1 and its brother Voyager 2 took off on a trip toexplore Saturn, Jupiter and bodies outside our solar system in1977. Voyager 1’s mission was over in November 1980, when it hadfinished exploring the two aforementioned planets and their moons.But with 18 billion kilometers (11 billion miles) traveled,scientists are holding their breath for what awaits the human raceoutside of our cosmic comfort zone. They say we only have about ayear or two to wait till the first of the two crafts has made itinto interstellar space.In its 35 years of activity, Voyager 1 is still sendingtransmissions back to NASA, which makes it the oldest activespacecraft ever built. It takes around 16 hours to send and receiveradio signals.Both the Voyagers are carrying gold-plated phonograph recordscontaining 115 images of life on Earth, various animal sounds, thesounds of weather and nature, as well as greetings in a number oflanguages, including printed messages from the former US PresidentJimmy Carter and former UN chief Kurt Waldheim. NASA praises itstwo prized spacecraft as “the most distant activerepresentatives of humanity and its desire to explore.” … Read More
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