026-vg2_4391335-6.jpgAnomalies near Japetus (Object "C" - detail super-mgnf)70 visiteE a questo punto le (provvisorie e questionabili) conclusioni già le conoscete, ma ci sembra giusto riportarle in chiaro e per esteso:
l'oggetto "A" potrebbe effettivamente essere un "detrito spaziale vagante". I chiaro/scuri che si vedono chiaramente attraverso i detail mgnfs ci portano, sulla base della nostra sensibilità ed esperienza, ad escludere comunque ed in ogni caso l'eventualità per cui si possa trattare di un image-artifact;
l'oggetto "B" ha tutta l'aria di essere un image (o photo) artifact. Non sapremmo dire/definirne l'origine, ma la sensazione al riguardo - ricordate: in questo campo la "sensazione", spesso, è l'elemento discriminante tra "svista" e "scoperta"... - è che si tratti proprio di un qualcosa di NON reale.
l'oggetto "C", infine, lo collochiamo a pieno diritto nella Classe degli "Irrisolvibili" e cioè il "calderone" in cui vanno a finire tutti quei dettagli fotografici che, per un motivo o per l'altro, non è possibile classificare - neppure con approssimazione - come image-artifact o come (candidati) "oggetti reali".
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44-vg1_1637750.jpgThe "Strange Companion" of Io (extreme detail mgnf)73 visiteL'oggetto a noi pare lo stesso (a tutti gli effetti) del frame VG1-1636836: il super-stretching ne evidenzia alcune, minime, caratteristiche superficiali e la sua dimensione apparente, a parità di stretching, suggerisce che esso si stia allontanando dalla Sonda Voyager.
Incredibile, vero?!?
Un vero peccato che, anche in questo caso, la NASA non abbia MAI speso una parola (se non altro per dire, ad esempio, "è solo un image artifact"...).
Mai.
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Voyager_1A.jpgFarewell...123 visiteOn April 17, 2'26, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California sent commands to shut down an instrument aboard Voyager 1 called the Low-energy Charged Particles experiment, or LECP. The nuclear-powered spacecraft is running low on power, and turning off the LECP is considered the best way to keep humanity’s first interstellar explorer going.
The LECP has been operating almost without interruption since Voyager 1 launched in 1977 — almost 49 years. It measures low-energy charged particles, including ions, electrons, and cosmic rays originating from our solar system and galaxy. The instrument has provided critical data about the structure of the interstellar medium, detecting pressure fronts and regions of varying particle density in the space beyond our heliosphere. The twin Voyagers are the only spacecraft that are far enough from Earth to provide this information.
Like Voyager 2, Voyager 1 relies on a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, a device that converts heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. Both probes lose about 4 watts of power each year. After almost a half-century in space, power margins have grown razor thin, requiring the team to conserve energy by shutting off heaters and instruments while making sure the spacecraft don’t get so cold that their fuel lines freeze.
During a routine, planned roll maneuver on Feb. 27, Voyager 1’s power levels fell unexpectedly. Mission engineers knew any additional drop in power could trigger the spacecraft’s undervoltage fault protection system, which would shut down components on its own to safeguard the probe, requiring recovery by the flight team — a lengthy process that carries its own risks.
The Voyager team needed to act first.
“While shutting down a science instrument is not anybody’s preference, it is the best option available,” said Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at JPL. “Voyager 1 still has two remaining operating science instruments — one that listens to plasma waves and one that measures magnetic fields. They are still working great, sending back data from a region of space no other human-made craft has ever explored. The team remains focused on keeping both Voyagers going for as long as possible.”
Far-out plan
The choice of which instrument to turn off next wasn’t made in the heat of the moment. Years ago, the Voyager science and engineering teams sat down together and agreed on the order in which they would shut off parts of the spacecraft while ensuring the mission can continue to conduct its unique science. Of the 10 identical sets of instruments that each spacecraft carries, seven have been shut off so far. For Voyager 1, the LECP was next on that list. The team shut off the LECP on Voyager 2 in March 2025.
Because Voyager 1 is more than 15 billion miles (25 billion kilometers) from Earth, the sequence of commands to shut down the instrument will take 23 or so hours to reach the spacecraft, and the shutdown process itself will take about three hours and 15 minutes to complete. One part of the LECP — a small motor that spins the sensor in a circle to scan in all directions — will remain on. It uses little power (0.5 watts), and keeping it running gives the team the best chance of being able to turn the instrument back on someday if they find extra power.
What comes next
Engineers are confident that shutting down the LECP will give Voyager 1 about a year of breathing room. They are using the time to finalize a more ambitious energy-saving fix for both Voyagers they call “the Big Bang,” which is designed to further extend Voyager operations. The idea is to swap out a group of powered devices all at once — hence the nickname — turning some things off and replacing them with lower-power alternatives to keep the spacecraft warm enough to continue gathering science data.
The team will implement the Big Bang on Voyager 2 first, which has a little more power to spare and is closer to Earth, making it the safer test subject. Tests are planned for May and June 2026. If they go well, the team will attempt the same fix on Voyager 1 no sooner than July. If it works, there is even a chance that Voyager 1’s LECP could be switched back on.MareKromium
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Voyager_2.jpgVoyager 2: Citizen of the Universe190 visiteLanciata 42 anni fa la Sonda Voyager 2 è diventata il secondo oggetto costruito dall’uomo (dopo la sonda Voyager 1) a lasciare il sistema solare (o meglio l’Eliosfera ossia la zona influenzata dai venti solari) e sta viaggiando nello spazio interstellare. A certificarlo, sulle pagine di Nature Astronomy, sono stati i ricercatori dell’università dell’Iowa, che hanno registrato il debole ma preciso segnale trasmesso “dall’altra parte” ossia da oltre il confine invisibile che segna la fine del sistema solare. Il fatto che Voyager abbia attraversato il sistema solare ci fornisce dati preziosi sulla formazione dell’eliosfera e, si presume, ci fornirà dati ancor più importanti in merito a quel che c’è oltre il sistema solare, nello spazio inesplorato, visto che si stima che, senza incidenti, le sonde Voyager e Voyager 2 potranno continuare il loro viaggio potenzialemente per altri 5 miliardi di anni, ossia, potenzialmente per sempre.MareKromium
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