Good question. How much of a pull can the sun have on the craft at that distance, though? The escape velocity from Earth is about 11 km/s. But obviously the gravitational pull is powerful.

According to info I received in physics class some ten year ago, Voyager will continue into the cosmos undisturbed.  Eventually it will reach the Centauri system, at which point it might fall into one of the stars or set itself into a degrading orbit.

Ever seen Star Trek: The Motion Picture?

A truely amazing feat!!!
Also I would imagine that the further from the sun the less the gravitational pull, and eventually you reach a point where the solar winds from the sun are more powerful than the gravitational forces... Mind you I'm not an astrophysicist........

Ozzy

For all the space travel enthusiasts, it is interesting to note that Voyager 1 was launched from Earth in 1977, and it has now taken 27 years to reach the limit of our tiny little Solar System.
An astronaut sitting in that vessel will be 27 years older, as he passes Pluto, than when he first left the Earth.
Would anyone like to calculate how old he will be, (or how long he will have been dead), by the time he reaches our nearest Galaxy, Alpha Centauri... ...?

Cheers... ...!
Paul.
(England).

Hagar he has already worked it out...... It would take as long as he is old

Ozzy (ageist)

That's fine but what about your amazing din-dins? ???
I don't think there would be room for your gas cooker or a local Sainsbury's to supply the provisions to cook on it. A man has to eat you know & considering what you have in mind you would need something substantial to keep your strength up. Eating mush out of a toothpaste tube for all those years wouldn't suit me.

Quote:


Fozzer, do you mean our nearest planet?

If light travels at 186,262 miles per second, that would equal  5,877,981,691,200 miles per year.  Multiply that times 4.3 (light years to Alpha Centauri) and you find our pilot must travel 25,275,321,272,160 (thats over 25 trillion miles)!

Now, Voyager has traveled 8.4 billion miles in 27 years.  That comes out to 311,111,111 miles per year.

So, divide the distance to travel by the number of miles traveled per year and you get:

It would take our intrepid pilot 81,242.1 years to reach the planet Alpha Centauri!  Better pack a lunch.  

Just in case you meant the nearest galaxy you need to look at slightly larger numbers.  Andromeda is 2,200,000 light years away.  It takes our pilot 18893.6 years to travel one light year.

To travel to the nearest galaxy will take our boy 41,565,920,000 years.  Better pack a BIG lunch!    

Your mileage may vary...