What did NASA's Voyager space probes discover in and out of solar system?

Subscribe for more wacky universe videos: https://bit.ly/2LUOOD2

Number 11. Main Objectives

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, and Voyager 1 followed 16 days later. These probes were designed using a lot of information gathered from the Pioneer 10, a spacecraft launched in 1972 that eventually reached the velocity required to leave the solar system - although it has yet to do so. Voyagers 1 and 2 were built with the primary mission of studying Saturn and Jupiter. Luckily for NASA, these probes went far beyond the two planets and have provided astounding information about the mysteries of deep space.


Number 10. Jupiter: Voyagers 1 & 2

The first stop on the list for both spacecraft was Jupiter. Voyager 1 began its Jupiter flyby in January 1979 and became closest to the planet that March. At 217,000 miles - or 349,000 kilometers - from the gas giant's center, Voyager 1 was able to take high-resolution photographs of Jupiter. It maintained this distance for about 48 hours, taking some of the most detailed images of Jupiter ever seen. Voyager 1 also discovered that one of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, Io, experiences continuous volcanic activity, which has a significant impact on the planet's magnetosphere. Voyager 2 didn't get as close to Jupiter as its twin, only reaching 350,000 miles - 570,000 kilometers - from the cloud tops. But, the second probe confirmed the volcanic findings of Io. The Voyagers observed a total of nine erupting volcanoes on the moon.


Number 9. Saturn: Voyagers 1 & 2

Following Jupiter, the probes journeyed to Saturn. Coming within 77,000 miles - 124,000 kilometers - of the ringed planet's cloud tops, Voyager 1 found complex structures in Saturn's rings in addition to studying its atmosphere and Titan, the planet's giant moon. Both probes discovered that powerful winds blow near Saturn's equator, measuring 1,100 miles per hour. They also found phenomena similar to Earth's aurora borealis - or northern lights - in the form of ultraviolet hydrogen emissions near the middle of Saturn's atmosphere. With its flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1's primary mission ended, and its adventure to interstellar space began.

#WackyUniverse #Voyager