zlacker

>>belter+(OP)
> The probe is currently around 32 billion kilometers from Earth, and gets 15km further away every second.

I beg anybody to rephrase it understandingly with using some units similar to football fields. Is it possible to launch a little cheap rocket with a transmitter just to correct Voyager's position?

>>eimrin+m6
It's about 3.5 trillion NFL football fields away. 15km/s is about 33,000 mph - more than 10x the speed of sound, and faster than a bullet. Does that help?

We are talking about distances that are so big, there is no comparison that makes sense. Nothing else IS that big. The numbers are literally "astronomical". If you're struggling to wrap your head around it, you're doing it right.

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space." -- Douglas Adams

>>ohtheh+y8
> 15km/s is about 33,000 mph - more than 10x the speed of sound

Well, technically, 15km/s IS "more than 10x the speed of sound". An average car, is, TECHNICALLY, more than twice the size of a bicycle.

>>onetim+w9
honestly I was just shooting for easy round numbers. "More than 43x the speed of sound" doesn't have the same ring to it. And besides, as we all know "technically correct is the best kind of correct!" :)