Voyager 1, which is the farthest human-made object from Earth and the first to enter interstellar space, has been detecting a âfaint, persistent humâ that scientists have attributed to interstellar gas.
Phys.org, citing research published in Nature Astronomy, reported that the spacecraftâs Plasma Wave System has picked up a âpersistent signature produced by the tenuous near-vacuum of space.â
James Cordes, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, reportedly described the sound as a âquiet or gentle rain.â
âIn the case of a solar outburst, itâs like detecting a lightning burst in a thunderstorm and then itâs back to a gentle rain,â he said.
Now 8 years into its travels in the deep reaches of space between the stars, Voyager 1 has detected a faint, low-level hum. It stems from the vibration of the plasma, or ionized gas, in interstellar space.
Spacecraft traveling beyond solar system detects hum emanating from deep space
and last updated 2021-05-12 14:13:45-04
Researchers say that a NASA spacecraft currently traveling beyond the solar system has detected a constant hum emanating from deep space.
According to a new research study published Monday, the faint but constant vibrations were recorded by Voyager 1, a spacecraft launched by NASA in 1977 thatâs still operational and sending signals back to Earth.
Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980, and has continued its journey into the final frontier. In 2012, scientists confirmed that probe had left the heliosphere and entered interstellar space.
TORONTO Launched 44 years ago, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is now the most distant human-made object in space – and it has sent back some new findings from past the edge of our solar system. Travelling at approximately 61,152 kilometres per hour, Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter in 1979, then Saturn in late 1980, and has now crossed through the heliopause, the solar system’s border with interstellar space, also called the interstellar medium. A new study led by Cornell University and published in the journal Nature Astronomy details how Voyager 1’s instruments have detected the “constant drone of interstellar gas” or plasma waves, according to a release.