Question

Voyager I is now about 110 AU from Earth, continuing to record its environment as it approaches the limits of our Solar System. Provide the answers below for the point when Voyager I was 71.00 AU from Earth.

What was the distance of Voyager I from Earth? (in km)

How many times greater than that is the distance to the nearest star (other than the Sun)?

How long did it take observational data to get back to Earth from Voyager I?

Answer 1

Answered

Step-by-step explanation:

(i) 1 Astronomical Unit (A.U.) = 1.496 x 10^8 Km.

Therefore, distance of Voyager I from Earth = 71 AU = 71 x 1.496 x 10^8 = 1.062 x 10^10 Km.

(ii) The nearest star to Earth than sun is the Proxima Centauri in the Alpha Centauri system. The Proxima Centauri is 4.22 light years away from Earth.

As, 1 Light year = 63241.1 AU

The distance of the Proxima Centauri from Earth = 4.22 x 63241.1 AU = 266877.3 AU

The distance of the Voyager I from Earth = 71 AU

The number of times the distance of the Proxima Centauri from Earth is greater than that of Voyager I is = 266877.3 / 71

= 3758.835 times.

(iii) Speed of light is 1.079 x 10^9 Km/hr

Light travels 1.079 x 10^9 km in 1 hr

Therefore, 1. 062 x 10^10 Km is traveled by light in = (1.062 x 10^10) / (1.079 x 10^9) hr = 9.84 hours

That means when Voyager I was 71 AU from Earth, a observational data from Voyager I at the speed of light took 9.84 hours to reach Earth.