Voyager 1 is about to set an historic first! On November 18th, at 0416 CST and 7 seconds, it will be one light day from earth! The first ever man made object to be that far from earth!
Think about that. “Only” one light day from earth. We launched it in 1977, 49 years ago. And that’s as far as we’ve gotten. The nearest star to our sun is about 4.25 light years!
That means it will take 1551.25 years, or so, for Voyager 1 to reach Proxima Centauri. If it was pointed in that direction. Which I’m pretty sure it isn’t.
Think about where we were 1551 years ago. That’s a long time. How many generations has there been since then? That’s how many generations it would take a starship to reach another star than our sun.
Actually, more. As if we wanted to stop there we’d have to slow down for part of the trip. Would any people on such a ship even remember a planet called Earth? Or would Earth just be a myth to anyone that actually survived the journey?
Think about that the next time someone claims they’ve been abducted by aliens. Who would probably have to travel much further to get here.
So look up at 0416 on November 18th and wish Voyager 1 “Godspeed” for the rest of its voyage. However long that may be.
