Voyager's One-Light-Year Trek: How Long Will It Take?

The Voyager 1 space probe, launched by NASA in 1977, is currently the most distant human-made object from Earth. As of 2024, it was 24.9 billion km from Earth, and it takes over 22 hours for its signals to reach us. At its current speed, it would take Voyager 1 about 17,720 years to travel one light year, which is 9.5 trillion km. This means that in about 40,000 years, it will approach the star AC +79 3888, which is 17.6 light-years away from Earth.

Voyager 1's speed

The Voyager 1 space probe was launched by NASA in 1977 to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. It is currently the most distant human-made object from Earth, at a distance of about 166.28 Astronomical Units (AU) or 24.9 billion kilometres.

As of 2024, Voyager 1 is travelling at a speed of about 17 kilometres per second (km/s) or 61,200 kilometres per hour. This equates to about 536,112,000 kilometres per year, meaning it will take Voyager 1 about 17,720 years to travel one light year.

In 2017, the Voyager team successfully fired the spacecraft's trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) thrusters for the first time since 1980, enabling the mission to be extended by two to three years. Voyager 1's extended mission is expected to continue returning scientific data until at least 2025, with a maximum lifespan of until 2030. Its radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) may supply enough electric power to return engineering data until 2036.

In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to cross the heliopause and enter interstellar space. This milestone occurred at a distance of 121 AU from the Sun, and it was travelling at a speed of about 17.043 km/s relative to the Sun. At this rate, it would need about 17,565 years to travel a single light year.

In 2024, Voyager 1 was reported to be at a velocity of 38,026.79 kilometres per hour relative to the Sun.

How long will it take to reach another solar system?

The time it takes to travel to another solar system depends on several factors, such as the route taken, the spacecraft used, and the location of the planets in their respective orbits.

The closest star to our solar system is Proxima Centauri, and it would take about 80,000 years to reach it with current technology. To put this into perspective, it would take about 40 days to travel to Mercury, the closest planet to Earth, in the New Horizons spacecraft, one of the fastest human-made objects.

However, it's important to note that the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is travelling at 17 kilometres per second, will take approximately 17,720 years to travel one light year. This means it would take Voyager 1 about 80,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri, which is 4.5 light years away.

Despite these vast timeframes, there is optimism that future generations will develop new technologies to reduce travel times and enable exploration beyond our solar system.

How far is Voyager 1 from Earth?

As of August 2022, Voyager 1 is approximately 14.6 billion miles (23.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. This makes it the farthest human-made object from our planet. To put this into perspective, light takes 23 hours, 4 minutes, and 14.3750 seconds to travel from Voyager 1 to Earth.

The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched on September 5, 1977, with the mission to explore the outer planets of our solar system. It has far exceeded its expected lifespan and continues to send valuable information back to Earth.

The probe's speed is approximately 38,000 mph (17 kilometers per second), and as of 2022, it is travelling at 61,200 kilometers per hour or 536,112,000 kilometers per year. At this speed, it would take Voyager 1 about 17,720 years to travel one light year, which is about 9.5 trillion kilometers.

In August 2012, Voyager 1 left the heliosphere, the bubble of charged particles surrounding our Sun, and entered interstellar space. This milestone was only confirmed in 2013 when scientists reviewed the data sent back from the spacecraft.

Despite its distance, Voyager 1 continues to be a valuable asset for studying interstellar space and how our Sun interacts with particles and magnetic fields outside our heliosphere.

How long has Voyager 1 been travelling?

Voyager 1 has been travelling for decades. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft has been exploring our solar system since. It is currently in interstellar space, the region outside the heliopause, or the bubble of energetic particles and magnetic fields from the Sun.

In August 2012, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. This milestone was reached almost 35 years after its voyage began. The discovery was only made official a year later, however, when scientists had time to review the data sent back from Voyager 1.

The spacecraft is currently zipping through space at around 38,000 mph (17 km/s). At this rate, it would need about 17,565 years to travel a single light year. As of 2024, Voyager 1 was 164.7 AU from Earth, making it the farthest object created by humans.

The Voyager 1 probe was initially launched to fly by Jupiter and Saturn. However, it has far exceeded its original mission, continuing to collect and transmit valuable scientific data. Its extended mission is to locate and study the regions and boundaries of the outer heliosphere and to explore the interstellar medium.

In 2017, the Voyager team successfully fired the spacecraft's trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) thrusters for the first time since 1980, enabling the mission to be extended by two to three years. Voyager 1 is expected to continue returning scientific data until at least 2025, with a maximum lifespan of until 2030. Its radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) may even supply enough electric power to return engineering data until 2036.

What is a light year?

A light year is a unit of length used to express distances in space. It is defined as the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one Julian year (365.25 days). Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles (or 300,000 km) per second. This means that a light year is about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometres). This is a 6 with 12 zeros behind it!

The light year is a useful unit for describing the vast distances between stars and other distances on a galactic scale. The next closest star to our Sun is about 4.3 light years away. This means that when we look at that star, we are seeing it as it was 4.3 years ago. The nearest large galaxy to our own, Andromeda, is 2.5 million light years away, so we see it as it was 2.5 million years ago.

The light year unit first appeared in 1851 in a German popular astronomical article by Otto Ule. Ule explained the oddity of a distance unit named ending in "year" by comparing it to a "walking hour" (Wegstunde). The unit most commonly used by professional astronomers today is the parsec, which is about 3.26 light years.

As for the Voyager 1 probe, it is currently travelling at a speed of about 17 km/s. At this speed, it will take about 17,720 years for it to travel one light year.

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