Abstract
Some time in the next few years, the Voyager spacecraft will leave the Solar System and enter into emptiness. Around 40,000 years later they will be approaching other stars. Voyager 2 will pass within 1.7 light years of the red dwarf star Ross 248. Voyager 1 will be near AC + 79388 at the same time. These first physical encounters between humanity and the stars will not be intimate. From the perspective of the spacecraft, both stars would be seen, were anyone still looking, to grow gradually in brightness and then fade.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Marett-Crosby, M. (2013). Future Suns. In: Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations That Changed the World. The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6800-4_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6800-4_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6799-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6800-4
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)