MIT Space Plasma Group Voyager Plasma Science Experiment

Solar wind data measured by VOYAGER 2 up through December 31, 2011

As of 7 October 2011, Voyager 2 was 8.972 billion miles from Earth (96.347 Astronomical Units from the Sun), well beyond the orbit of Pluto. Voyager 2 is leaving the solar system at 36,000 miles per hour, which is 3.2 AU per year, or 1 light year per 18,600 years.

On the same date, the light travel time from Voyager 2 to Earth was 13 hours, 22 minutes, 45 seconds. Data are returned from the spacecraft at 160 bits per second, using a transmitter with about 25 watts (!) of power.

For more details, see the latest Voyager Mission Operations Status Report

NASA JPL Voyager Project Home Page

For more information contact John Richardson at MIT (e-mail: jdr@space.mit.edu).