Planets and Moons
Universe
ID: 4140
This visualization tracks the trajectory of the Voyager 2 spacecraft through the solar system. Launched on August 20, 1977, it was one of two spacecraft sent to visit the giant planets of the outer solar system. Like Voyager 1, Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter and Saturn, but the Voyager 2 mission was extended to fly by Uranus and Neptune before being directed out of the solar system.
To fit the 40 year history of the mission into a short visualization, the pacing of time accelerates through most of the movie, starting at about 5 days per second at the beginning and speeding up to about 11 months per second after the planet flybys are past.
The termination shock and heliopause are the 'boundaries' created when the plasma between the stars interacts with the plasma flowing outward from the Sun. They are represented with simple grid models and oriented so their 'nose' is pointed in the direction (Right Ascension = 17h 24m, declination = 17 degrees south) represented by more recent measurements from other missions.
Check out Voyager at NASA/JPL for more information.
Voyager 2 Trajectory through the Solar System
To fit the 40 year history of the mission into a short visualization, the pacing of time accelerates through most of the movie, starting at about 5 days per second at the beginning and speeding up to about 11 months per second after the planet flybys are past.
The termination shock and heliopause are the 'boundaries' created when the plasma between the stars interacts with the plasma flowing outward from the Sun. They are represented with simple grid models and oriented so their 'nose' is pointed in the direction (Right Ascension = 17h 24m, declination = 17 degrees south) represented by more recent measurements from other missions.
Check out Voyager at NASA/JPL for more information.
Related
Visualization Credits
Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Genna Duberstein (USRA): Producer
Kathalina Tran (KBRwyle): Writer
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Genna Duberstein (USRA): Producer
Kathalina Tran (KBRwyle): Writer
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4140
Mission:
Voyager
Data Used:
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.
This item is part of these series:
Voyager Retrospective
Voyager @ 40
Keywords:
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> Solar System
SVS >> Planetary Science
SVS >> Spacecraft >> Voyager
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons
NASA Science >> Universe
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4140
Mission:
Voyager
Data Used:
DE 431
Ephemeris - JPL
Planetary ephemerides SPICE kernel
This item is part of these series:
Voyager Retrospective
Voyager @ 40
Keywords:
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> Solar System
SVS >> Planetary Science
SVS >> Spacecraft >> Voyager
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons
NASA Science >> Universe
