Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on 20 August 1977 to study the outer planets; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and eventually venture outside of the Solar System. Voyager 2 was actually lauched before Voyager 1, however Voyager 1 moved fater and eventually passed it. At a distance of around 15.5 billion kilometers from Earth, Voyager 2 is one of the furthest travelled objects launched from Earth.
Jouney through the Solar System[]
Since its launch, Voyager 2 has been gone for 36 years. During this time, It has:
- Studied Jupiter and its four Galilean moons (Ganymede, Callisto, Io amd Europa)
- Observed Saturn and many of its moons, inlcluding Titan
- Took the first detailed close-up photos of Uranus and Neptune, along with some of their moons, most notably Neptune's largest moon Triton
Encounter with Jupiter[]
The closest Voyager 2 ever became to Jupiter was on 9 July 1979 when it came within 570,000 kilometers. Whilst exploring the Jovian vicinity, Voyager 2 managed to find faint rings of Jupiter as well as discovering volcanic activities on the closest moon, Io. Two new small Natural satellites of Jupiter, Adrastea and Metis, were also discovered oribiting just outside of the ring. A third new moon, Thebe, was discovered between the orbits of Amalthea and Io.
Encounter with Saturn[]
The closest approach to Saturn was on 26 August 1981.