Nasa’s Voyager 2 has become only the second human-made object to reach the space between stars.
Nasa said on Monday that Voyager 2 exited the region of the sun’s influence last month.
For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. Now slightly more than 11 billion miles (18 bil. km) from Earth, @NASAVoyager 2 has now left the Sun's protective bubble & is flying in interstellar space: https://t.co/zRnhiaJqGS #AGU18 pic.twitter.com/Zzncki4GKB
— NASA (@NASA) December 10, 2018
The spacecraft is now beyond the outer boundary of the heliosphere, some 11 billion miles from Earth.
It is trailing Voyager 1, which reached interstellar space in 2012.
LIVE NOW: @NASAVoyager 2 launched before its twin in 1977, but followed a longer path away from Earth. Along the way, Voyager 2 has been providing scientists with unprecedented observations of the space it’s traveling through. Get the latest now: https://t.co/nDQWMi7HMS #AGU18 pic.twitter.com/Hw8T1KHEaY
— NASA (@NASA) December 10, 2018
Interstellar space is the vast mostly emptiness between star systems.
According to Nasa, the Voyagers are still technically in our solar system.
After visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, @NASAVoyager 2 has left the Sun's protective bubble and is now flying in the interstellar space between the stars. Learn more about this incredible mission as the encore to the Grand Tour begins: https://t.co/nvffnCO3jm #AGU18 pic.twitter.com/T6kOWrxYzH
— NASA (@NASA) December 10, 2018
Scientists maintain the solar system stretches to the outer edge of the so-called Oort Cloud.
It will take thousands of years for the spacecraft to get that far.
The @NASAVoyager 2 probe no longer feels the solar wind & is flying through the interstellar space between the stars. It carries a working instrument providing 1st-of-its-kind observations of the nature of this gateway. Here's a look by the numbers: https://t.co/DuNBYPaXQj #AGU18 pic.twitter.com/GJGIgDpSHD
— NASA (@NASA) December 10, 2018
Despite the great distance, flight controllers are still in contact with Voyager 2.
The Voyagers launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1977.