Voyager 1, the first human-made object launched into space, will mark history by traveling a light day away from Earth for the first time in November 2026. The spacecraft, which was launched in 1977, has been traveling through space ever since and is now about 166 Astronomical Units (AU) away from our planet.
To put this distance into perspective, it would take 23 hours, 5 minutes, and 36 seconds for light to travel from Earth to Voyager 1 at its current position. However, when the spacecraft reaches a point where it takes exactly 24 hours for light to reach it, that’s considered a light day.
Voyager 1 is almost half-way through its journey to become one light-day away from Earth, taking approximately 50 years to reach this milestone. The distance between Voyager 1 and Earth will increase further by January 2027, when the spacecraft will be a light day away from both our planet and the sun.
The vastness of space is a stark reminder of just how enormous it is. This achievement serves as a testament to human ingenuity and the determination of scientists who design and launch spacecraft into the unknown. As Douglas Adams once said, “Space is big. Really big.”
Source: https://supercarblondie.com/nov-2026-first-time-a-human-made-object-is-a-light-day-away-from-earth