1st picture of 2006

astroton · Post by **astroton** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 10:08 am

Wonderful picture of the rock and wonderful way to usher in the new year!

Happy new year to all the fellow inhabitants of the rocky planet.

Earth rocks!!!

Muggins · Post by **Muggins** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:02 pm

What exactly is that streak that "the rock" seems to be traveling in?

jacowik · Post by **jacowik** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:56 pm

"The Largest Rock in the Solar System " , marvelous picture! This was a year after Voyager passed Neptune, and four years after Uranus. Does anyone know how much longer Voyagers cameras keep working, if in fact the cameras ever broke down. Thanks.

Ken Jacowitz

S. Bilderback · Post by **S. Bilderback** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:26 am

jacowik wrote:"The Largest Rock in the Solar System " , marvelous picture! This was a year after Voyager passed Neptune, and four years after Uranus. Does anyone know how much longer Voyagers cameras keep working, if in fact the cameras ever broke down. Thanks.

Ken Jacowitz

The Voyagers have about 15 years left of nuclear fuel left Voyager 1 should reach the end of heliosphere in about 5 years, because of different course, voyager 2 may not make it before running out of fuel. Once the fuel is gone, so is the communications.
The signal received from Voyager 1 is now so weak that if all the energy beamed back was collected for one billion years; a Christmas tree bulb could be lit for only one second.
The computing power of the Voyagers is less than an Apple eII – which is about halve the power of a Commodore 64.