Well I get that, I just mean another catch all sort of deal like Voyager could still be beneficial I would think, especially with our new technology. Better computers, better cameras and lenses, etc. Especially if it's cheap.
I just keep hearing about how successful the Voyager program was, more so than they ever thought it would be, and I think, why not try again?
Plus how can it hurt to have additional probes out there? Part of the mission of Voyager was the possibility of bumping into something, perhaps even 'someone' unknown. Having a few more out there increases those odds.
The big thing is when I think of extra solar space is we know so little about it. It's like we look at our system, and them other systems, but it's hard to look at the space in between. Largely because it seems to be empty, but even if there aren't planets out there there gotta be comets, asteroids, who knows what flying around. This could be a stepping stone to understanding previously thought 'empty space' no? Maybe it's not nearly as empty as we thought.
Maybe there is a Mass Relay out there!
I really have no idea how much it would cost. But under the assumption that it's cheap, considering we have 40 years extra knowledge and technology behind it, I would think NASA could hit another one out of the park with it.
If it's not cheap, then well, I wouldn't be too excited to repeat another project. But even with technology from ten years ago for instance, if you wanted to go bargain on it... I gotta think it would be a relatively low cost venture.
Well I get that, I just mean another catch all sort of deal like Voyager could still be beneficial I would think, especially with our new technology. Better computers, better cameras and lenses, etc. Especially if it's cheap.
I just keep hearing about how successful the Voyager program was, more so than they ever thought it would be, and I think, why not try again?
I'm not sure what you mean. Galileo and Cassini were probes like Voyager, but with better computers, cameras etc.
The New Horizons probe approaches Pluto in 668 days.
Hmmm, I thought those were more planetary specific. I guess I mean looking at one or two specific planets, instead of traversing the system out from Earth.
Hmmm, I thought those were more planetary specific. I guess I mean looking at one or two specific planets, instead of traversing the system out from Earth.
You are right in that each of those probes is to a single planetary system.. the benefit of that is you can hang around and do a bunch of science over a longer period rather than just a little bit as you whiz by for the gravity assist to get to the next one.
Planetary alignments probably have some to do with it too, the planets had to be a certain way in order for a probe to be able to swing from one to the next via simple gravity assist without having to cross the solar system. Right now the gas giant are at almost opposing corners of the system.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
I always assumed the Moon was just a satellite that is named the Moon, and when we referred to other planets having "moons" it was similar to calling all facial tissues "Kleenex".
Actually I think you might be on the right track Hatter, what I'm reading is that the word (name) for the moon back before English/German/Dutch etc split was mǣnōn, which eventually became moon in English, then as you say was generalized when we discovered that ours was not the only moon.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
^^^ Yeah, that makes sense cause the uber correct name for moons is still satellites, (which means orbiting body or something) is it not?
It's just THAT term became different when we started putting up what we now call satellites.
Funny that all the terms kinda had the same problem. Started off as the correct term, then got replaced or changed as our knowledge increased and we didn't have a good term for the new one.
I wonder with today's technology how fast we could get a probe to another solar system? Could we do it in 100 years?
The closest probable system Alpha Centauri and it's companion is 4.3 light years away, while it doesn't sound far compared to billions of light years Hubble takes pics of it's still 40 trillion kms away, even with tech being developed it would still take about 20,000 years.
Never say never but I highly doubt humankind will ever reach another star system, odds are we won't survive as a race that long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pylon
I am not cynical at all. Nobody is as awe struck by the Universe and the Voyager program as I am. The first thing I do, every time I walk outside at night.... is look up. I remember being glued for 2 weeks to the TV in 1989, when they broadcast the live video feed from Voyager on some obscure cable channel when it passed Neptune. Every spare minute I had, looking at a big blue blob. When I was in grade 8, me and my dad.... OK my dad, built a model of Voyager that was so accurate, that it hung from the Science lab of my Junior High for 15 years.
I was merely making an observation. Over the last 2 years, there have been more than one occasion where they have made this claim.
There are comets with a 30,000 year orbit of our sun, a real cynic would suggest your not in interstellor space until your away from the suns grasp.
In Latin, our satellite's name is "Luna." Because a significant chunk of English comes from Latin, many terms associated with the moon are related to this Latin name — for example, the adjective "lunar," and the noun "lunatic," an old-fashioned word for a mentally ill person. (Madness was thought to be correlated with the phases of the moon.)
In Greek, our moon is named "Selene," as is the moon goddess of ancient Greek mythology. The English word "selenology," or the study of the moon's geology, derives from it.
Moon in a few languages:
Albanian: hëna
Catalan: lluna
Croatian: mjesec
Czech: měsíc
Danish: måne
Dutch: maan
Estonian: kuu
Filipino: buwan
French: lune
Galician: lúa
German: Mond
Hungarian: hold
Indonesian: bulan
Italian: luna
Latvian: mēness
Lithuanian: mėnulis
Norwegian: måne
Portuguese: lua
Romanian: lună
Spanish: luna or mes
Sun in a few languages:
Spanish: sol
Romanian: soare
Portuguese: sol
Norwegian: sol
Latvian: saule
Italian: sole
Hungarian: nap
German: Sonne
French: soleil
Dutch: zon
Danish: sol
Albanian: dielli
There was a documentary on National Geographic recently describing the what-if scenario of a global catastrophe approaching Earth that we couldn't get rid of (in this case a Neutron Star) and the possible scenarios that could be done to keep Humanity alive.
They used an old technology developed during WW2 where you launched bombs behind the spacecraft that hit a giant shock absorber and pushed the ship forward. The ship would hold 250,000 people and it would take them I believe 80-90 years to reach the next system. The documentary is on youtube and it was an interesting watch.
Moon in a few languages:
Albanian: hëna
Catalan: lluna
Croatian: mjesec
Czech: měsíc
Danish: måne
Dutch: maan
Estonian: kuu
Filipino: buwan
French: lune
Galician: lúa
German: Mond
Hungarian: hold
Indonesian: bulan
Italian: luna
Latvian: mēness
Lithuanian: mėnulis
Norwegian: måne
Portuguese: lua
Romanian: lună Spanish: luna or mes
Mes in Spanish means month. As far as I can think of, we call the Moon "Luna".
