Despite what capitalists would like you to believe technology hasn’t changed all that much in 50 years. Sure there have been some novel technologies more recently like blue LEDs or CRISPR-Cas9. But the real advance since the 70s has been in miniaturization, allowing more things to be put in the same amount of space as before.
Also one point of clarification, Voyager is a space probe, not a satellite. Satellites orbit things and can be naturally occurring.
As to the sensing mechanism specifically I am not sure other than that it has to do with detecting a differential in energy, but the sensor in question is the Low Energy Charged Particle Instrument.
Technically even the Voyager probes are orbiting something. It isn’t a planet, and not even the sun anymore. It is orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Despite what capitalists would like you to believe technology hasn’t changed all that much in 50 years. Sure there have been some novel technologies more recently like blue LEDs or CRISPR-Cas9. But the real advance since the 70s has been in miniaturization, allowing more things to be put in the same amount of space as before.
Also one point of clarification, Voyager is a space probe, not a satellite. Satellites orbit things and can be naturally occurring.
Fair. I’m still curious how it detects a single atom in the vacuum of space though
As to the sensing mechanism specifically I am not sure other than that it has to do with detecting a differential in energy, but the sensor in question is the Low Energy Charged Particle Instrument.
Thanks!
Technically even the Voyager probes are orbiting something. It isn’t a planet, and not even the sun anymore. It is orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
But yeah, probe is the more accurate term.
I had a feeling somebody was going to point that out…