Oops. You'd think they'd be perhaps a bit more careful about the instructions they send to the probe given its astounding distance from the Earth.
On Tuesday, scientists said they had detected a "heartbeat" signal from the craft.
The space agency said in a mission update posted on Friday that it used a "shout" issued from its deep space antennas to re-establish a connection to Voyager 2, which is currently located in interstellar space more than 12.3 billion miles from Earth.
Shout it out! Is it wise to send "shouts" out into interstellar space? The aliens likely also got the message, and have traced it back to Earth. If they're hostile, our goose is cooked! I'd prefer not to spend the rest of my life as a slave Thoridium miner on Alpha Centauri 2.
Voyager 2 now is now operating as designed as it continues on an interstellar mission that began 46 years ago.
Scientists sent the long-distance signal from the Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia.
"With a one-way light time of 18.5 hours for the command to reach Voyager, it took 37 hours for mission controllers to learn whether the command worked," NASA said in its update.
I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but what he said is quite true. The distances involved in space are so vast that there is almost no way we can contact any other life forms. People watch science fiction and think it's real. It isn't. That's why it's called fiction. Even if there were other life forms out there, we would never know within the time humans have been able to send radio waves out thru to the time humans have left on earth. It ain't happening and most people are too ignorant to know it or believe it.
DeleteOk, that was responding to the one below.
DeleteUnless the aliens are "in the neighborhood" when we sent the shout, it will take 4.5 years to reach the nearest star and likely a lot longer to reach anyone system with life on it. So, you've got some time on your hands to perfect your alien butt-kissing.
ReplyDeleteAll of what you say contradicts the Galaxy Quest historical documents.
DeletePulling it out your back hole is hardly science.
Sounds like a dramatic, heroic, recovery effort except: ..."Had the long-shot not worked, the probe was scheduled to automatically reorient its antenna towards Earth midway through October."
ReplyDeleteI wonder what that bright-eyed engineer's new job assignment is, the one that keeps him away from the control console.
Well, we know it ain't janitor. You know, the guy mopping the floor while everyone has gone home, who looks over and wonders what this knob or that button does. So he gives it a try and breaths a sigh of relief that no flashing red light or warning sounds.
DeleteObvious conspiracy theory, there are no Thoridium mines on Alpha Centauri 2.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows its actually an important intergalactic vote generation plant! I mean where else you going to get a few hundred thousand votes for climate change and social engineering for an important puppet election in the dead of night?!
Really Thoridium!
Well with older generations retiring, you get Millennials running the show, so it's par for the course.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely 100% correct!
DeleteNot as bad as switching metric and imperial measurements and crashing a probe into the surface.
ReplyDeleteThat infamous cluster was preceded by a little mentione event involving bouncing microwaves off the moon circa 1977. Same screw up by same error.
DeleteThe moron at NASA who turned the thing off was probably an affirmative action or DEI hire and no doubt received a promotion for their effort.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that, I pictured the fag in the control tower from Airplane, The Movie. Oops.
DeleteSiG at Silicon Greybeard writes about this. He also has restored the historical documents on this subject.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Alien overlords! We are a thousand times more likely to destroy your selves than be conquered by aliens. In fact the odds of an alien society even becoming aware we exist are probably a million to one...or less.
ReplyDeleteI estimate 6x10²⁴
DeleteJust what an alien plant would say to discredit the theory. :-)
DeleteFor Gort's sake, just don't take me to your leaders!
DeleteSuch doubting! Such sarcasm! Be a Mench, Kaplan! Give an inch! They got 46 year old hardware to work at a distance of 18 light-hours. Through all kinds of intervening fields and plasma currents. Ta-Da!
ReplyDeleteDid you look at those guys? Those aliens aren’t going to be eating anyone.
ReplyDeleteEddie
Nobody gets past the deadly radiation from the Van Halen Belt. Congressional Hearings on UFO/UAP activity in Room 237. - AL Tru
ReplyDeleteNobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
DeleteMaybe I'm the only one to see it, but we humans sure are some arrogant creatures. It is interesting to see how the picture of the aliens here is so human centric. They have such human form with ribs, head, face, arms, eyes, mouth and ears. It's as if NO ONE can even picture the idea of aliens not looking like people. Even if there were aliens out there somewhere, are we really so arrogant and narcissistic to think they would look like us? Obviously, we are.
ReplyDeleteit sounds better when Spock said it.
DeleteVeeger II will return
ReplyDelete18.5 hours seems a little quick.
ReplyDelete