AFTER 44 YEARS OF EXPLORATION, WHAT DID NASA'S VOYAGER 1 REALLY DISCOVER?
Voyager 1 was launched after its twin, Voyager 2, due to the fact that Voyager 1 was going to be on a much faster route. When launched, it quickly exceeded the distance of Voyager 2.
Voyager 1's main purpose was to explore the solar system, recording details never seen before of our neighbouring planets, and what secrets they may hold. During its mission in the solar system, Voyager 1 discovered several new moons around Jupiter and Saturn, some of which had volcanic activity and even atmospheres, which alone were groundbreaking discoveries.
Here are others, found at nasa.gov:
- Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, with dozens of interacting hurricane-like storm systems.
- Erupting volcanoes on Jupiter's moon, Io, which has 100 times the volcanic activity of Earth.
- The Io torus – a thick ring of ionized sulfur and oxygen, shed by Io, that inflates Jupiter's giant magnetic field.
- An indication of an ocean beneath the cracked icy crust of Jupiter's moon, Europa.
- Waves and fine structure in Saturn's icy rings from the tugs of nearby moons, and small moons shepherding the narrow, kinky F-ring.
- A deep, smoggy nitrogen atmosphere on Saturn's moon, Titan, likely having clouds and rain of methane.
- Complex and diverse surfaces of frozen moons, shaped by icy volcanism and faults.
- Neptune's Great Dark Spot and 1,600 kilometre-per-hour winds (1,000 miles per hour).
- Geysers erupting from the polar cap of Neptune's moon, Triton, at -390 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The termination shock where the supersonic solar wind abruptly slows, forming the final frontier of the solar system.
Take a look at the video below by the YouTube channel, Xedous, on What Did NASA's Voyager 1 Really Discover?