You can actually visit these probes within the game of Elite Dangerous (yups: the revival of the 80's classic!) and let me tell you: that's when you'll learn just how far these are out there.
... and it is traveling at the incredible speed of 61,000 km/h (17 km/s).
... which on 18 November will be ( drum roll please ) - 25902068371.2 km
I'm assuming that is one light day in distance/time?
Yupp.
| Unit | Definition | Equivalent distance in | Example | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Kilometers | Miles | |||
| light-second | 1 light-second | 299792458 m | 2.998×105 km | 1.863×105 miles | Average distance from the Earth to the Moon is about 1.282 light-seconds |
| light-minute | 60 light-seconds = 1 light-minute | 17987547480 m | 1.799×107 km | 1.118×107 miles | Average distance from the Earth to the Sun is 8.317 light-minutes |
| light-hour | 60 light-minutes = 3600 light-seconds | 1079252848800 m | 1.079×109 km | 6.706×108 miles | The perihelion of Saturn's orbit is about 1.25 light-hours |
| light-day | 24 light-hours = 86400 light-seconds | 25902068371200 m | 2.590×1010 km | 1.609×1010 miles | Voyager 1 is about 0.96 light-days from the Sun (as of March 2025) |
| light-week | 7 light-days = 604800 light-seconds | 181314478598400 m | 1.813×1011 km | 1.127×1011 miles | The Oort cloud is thought to extend between 41 and 82 light-weeks out from the Sun |
| light-year | 365.25 light-days = 31557600 light-seconds | 9460730472580800 m | 9.461×1012 km | 5.879×1012 miles | Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to the Sun, about 4.24 light years away |
Nah, Britney is way too young to have a soundtrack on that record. But Kurt Waldheim is on it. This could be a reason to at least stay away from Earth.
... but at least there is an advantage: all this void protect us from Supernova explosions. They are not so rare, and if they occur within 30-100 light years from the Earth, there can be also mass extinctions, like 445 million years ago. Despite the appearances, the Universe is No Country for Old Planets
"was taken by Voyager 1 on 14 February 1990 from a distance of more than 6 billion kilometers"
