Target880 t1_je1x2jn wrote
We do not know that, just that it will ake a very long time before it could because of the enormous distances.
Voyager, I do orbit something, the core of the galaxy just like the solar system. It is the combined effect of all matter in the solar syst.
remorsefulDownfall OP t1_je1xkco wrote
Sure but just because it's unlikely for a commet or asteroid to hit them or something doesn't mean that it's impossible, did they do anything with the orbital paths of the planets around the sun to know that when they launched it it wasn't going to be swept into the orbit of another planet? If so, what did they do?
And thank you I didn't know that about Voyager I!
Bensemus t1_je20hu9 wrote
In space unless you aimed REALLY well you aren't hitting anything. No matter how empty you think it is it's a billion times emptier.
They didn't do any crazy math to make sure they weren't going to hit anything. They did crazy math to make sure they got within very precise distances of each planet they visited to get a gravity assist. Each gravity assist sped up the probe until Voyager 1 was going about 17km/s and Voyager 2 was going about 15.5km/s. No rocket is capable of getting them to those crazy speeds.
After they each finished visiting planets they were on their way out of the solar system. There just isn't any risk of them crashing into anything.
dkf295 t1_je21y5x wrote
It's not impossible, however it would be like dropping 8 beach balls and a few dozen tennis balls in random parts of the pacific ocean, and then plotting a random course across the pacific ocean without hitting any of those balls. Sure it's POSSIBLE you could hit one of those balls, but given the vast size of the ocean and the comparatively tiny size of the balls, the chances are pretty darn close to zero.
Only instead of like that, about a million times less likely.
Splice1138 t1_je22ast wrote
For the planets, absolutely. The Voyager probes actually relied on planetary flybys to get a "gravity assist" to slingshot them out of the solar system. Lots of calculations involved to make that happen right.
Beyond that though, colliding with a random comet or asteroid is a) insanely improbable and b) impossible to account for if you don't know about them in the first place.
As for a running into another star system, it will take about 40,000 years for either Voyager probe to come within a couple light years of another star (but we do know which those will be)
Target880 t1_je2b6kb wrote
The asteroid belt is not like in movies. The average distance between objects is about 1 million km, a bit less the 3x the distance to the moon. If you were on an asteroid it is extremely unlikely you could see another with your naked eye.
If you could see another astroid you are likely to be close to one of the four larger asteroids Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea, they contain 60% of the total mass of the asteroid belt. The total mass of the asteroid belt is about 3% of the mass of the moon.
We do know where the planes in the solar system are and it was because of how they lined up that Voyager I and II were launched.
Voyager, I did flybys of Jupiter and Saturn and exploited their gravitational field to do a gravity boost and increase the speed.
Voyager II did flybys if Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Both have thrusters that were used for small maneuvers so the flyby was exactly as what desired.
There are no unknown objects in the solar system that has enough gravity to capture an object that moves at the speed of the probers.
It it what they encounter in thousand, million or billion of year that is not exactly known
mcarterphoto t1_je2en9n wrote
>If you were on an asteroid it is extremely unlikely you could see another with your naked eye.
I remember science fiction shows when I was a kid, and they'd go through "The asteroid belt!!!' or a "meteor storm!!!" and were avoiding what looked like dozens of balls of crumpled-up foil, banging into their space ship. I think a lot of nerdy kids pictured the asteroid belt as a shotgun blast of planet chunks bouncing off each other. If one really want to bump into a lot of stuff in space, they might choose Saturn's rings though.
Pocok5 t1_je21hqt wrote
Planets are hard to miss and they do not take unexpected turns like some drunk git on a highway. If you know where Mars is now and its velocity, you can predict where it'll be in exactly a thousand years, probably down to a few tens of meters of accuracy.
Menolith t1_je243jg wrote
The rotation can sometimes be surprisingly chaotic, though. Saturn's moon Hyperion wobbles so wildly that it was impossible to plan for a probe flyby to cover unexplored areas.
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