From one pale blue dot to another. Voyager 1 may have turned off its cameras 13 years ago but it is still sending back radio signals to NASA scientists daily. NASA captured that radio signal as a pale blue dot floating 12 billion miles away (and counting) in our cosmic ocean.
This photograph follows the announcement last week that Voyager 1 has officially entered interstellar space. You can click here to listen to the audio recording Voyager sent back to listen to what interstellar space sounds like apparently.
Scientists can’t “see” our first interstellar ambassador in the visible spectrum, but they can detect Voyager 1’s signal in radio light.
The 36-year-old spacecraft’s communications technology is lacking by today’s standards. A smartphone has thousands of times more memory than Voyager 1 and the space probe’s main transmitter radiates just 22 watts, about the same amount of power as a typical ham radio or a refrigerator light bulb, NASA said. But compared to many natural objects probed by radio telescopes, Voyager 1’s signal is actually quite bright.
h/t Space.com
