4 ms·
I would think the biggest part of being able to transmit that far is the perfect vacuum of space. There is almost nothing, not even air particles between us and
by jjeaff 5y ago
I would think the biggest part of being able to transmit that far is the perfect vacuum of space. There is almost nothing, not even air particles between us and the probe.
If you threw a beach ball from the distance of voyager straight to earth it would eventually make it here.
- lultimouomo 5y agoVacuum is good, but inverse-square law still applies. There is almost perfect vacuum between Earth and every star in the galaxy, and yet they don't appear nearly as bright as the Sun.
- thfuran 5y agoBut you can see the Andromeda galaxy, which is several quintillion miles away.
- josephg 5y agoSure, but the andromeda galaxy doesn’t have a power budget of 20 watts.
- Sporktacular 5y agoSome photons would make it, just not frequently enough to ascertain any information.
- thfuran 5y agoWell, orbital mechanics would mess up a straight toss but at least it wouldn't be stopped by air resistance.
- avar 5y agoJupiter might have other plans once your beach ball gets close enough.