Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object, is currently about 24 billion kilometers away from Earth and the Sun, yet it remains bright enough to be seen by the human eye.
Launched in 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 embarked on a journey to explore the universe and gather knowledge for humanity. Today, Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth, having traveled over 24 billion kilometers. The spacecraft is operating in the interstellar region, far away from the Sun. So, if one were to stand next to Voyager 1, would they be able to see it, or would they only see complete darkness?
Illustration of the Voyager spacecraft. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech).
“That’s a really interesting question,” Business Insider quoted astronomer Michael Zemcov, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, on October 24. He noted that both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 (also launched in 1977 and currently over 19 billion kilometers from Earth) are very far away, but the area remains relatively bright.
First, we need to compare the distance of Voyager 1 to the average distance from Earth to the Sun (about 150 million kilometers). This distance can then be used to calculate the intensity of light at such a distance from the Sun.
The result shows that the brightness at Voyager 1’s location is about 1/25,000 of the brightness experienced on Earth during the day. However, this level of brightness is still approximately 15 times greater than the light received on Earth during a clear, full moon night.
With this amount of light, one could clearly see the side of Voyager 1 facing the Sun, although they might not be able to discern all colors. In fact, a person could read a book there.
Even as it continues to travel farther, Voyager 1 will remain illuminated for quite some time due to the Sun’s extensive influence. According to Zemcov, the duo of Voyager spacecraft could stay within the Sun’s light for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
The distance traveled by the two Voyager spacecraft is astonishing. However, Zemcov emphasizes that, in the vastness of the universe, they still have a long way to go.
