The 116 photos NASA picked to explain our world to aliens

If any intelligent life in our galaxy intercepts the Voyager spacecraft, if they evolved the sense of vision, and if they can decode the instructions provided, these 116 images are all they will know about our species and our planet, which by then could be long gone:

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 reach the edge of the solar system

via engtechmag.wordpress.com

1977 – a momentous year. The Queen’s Silver Jubilee, punk rock, Star Wars, Red Rum, the Yorkshire Ripper, Elvis, Jimmy Carter, Concorde and NASA firing off a couple of spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, on a grand tour of the known planets and beyond.

Now approximately 18 billion kilometers from the Sun, both spacecraft continue to beam back data from their journey as they reach the edge of our solar system, poised at the gateway to interstellar space.

Voyager mission’s fast facts

via voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. On September 5, Voyager 1 launched, also from Cape Canaveral aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Between them, Voyager 1 and 2 explored all the giant planets of our outer solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; 48 of their moons; and the unique system of rings and magnetic fields those planets possess.

• Closest approach to Jupiter occurred on March 5, 1979 for Voyager 1; July 9, 1979 for Voyager 2.
• Closest approach to Saturn occurred on November 12, 1980 for Voyager 1; August 25, 1981 for Voyager 2.
• Closest approach to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986 by Voyager 2.
• Closest approach to Neptune occurred on August 25, 1989 by Voyager 2.

On February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space.

Both Voyager spacecraftscarry a greeting to any form of life, should that be encountered. The message is carried by a phonograph record – a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.

• Voyager 1 is escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year.
• Voyager 2 is escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.3 AU per year.