America 250 in the Planetarium – These are the Voyages of the Starship(s) Voyager

Celebrate American discovery, innovation, and values through topics in astronomy, history, art, music, and more in this special nine-part series in the BGSU Planetarium. The America 250 in the Planetarium series of programs will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting at 7:30 p.m. July 13 – 31. All America 250 in the Planetarium programs are free and open to the public.

This third talk in the series, “These are the Voyages of the Starship(s) Voyager”, will be presented by Kate Dellenbusch, Teaching Professor, BGSU Department of Physics & Astronomy.

The twin NASA Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft launched in 1977 and together made a Grand Tour of the gas giants of our solar system, providing breathtaking images of those worlds along the way. At more than 13 billion miles from Earth, the Voyagers are the most distant manmade objects, and in 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Voyager 2 followed this historic milestone in 2018. After nearly 49 years in space, most of their systems have been turned off, but as they venture ever farther from the Sun, they continue to send data back to Earth and teach us about the environment where the solar wind interacts with interstellar material. How do we know they have now entered interstellar space? How long can they continue to function and return useful scientific data as their power dwindles, and what might the future hold as these robotic emissaries of humanity continue into the cosmos?

This talk will be followed by the Planetarium show THE WRIGHT WAY TO FLY at 8:45 P.M.