“旅行者2号”即将离开太阳系

Traveling into space has been a lasting dream of mankind since ancient times. However, even by now, humans have only been to the moon. Earth and the moon are just small parts of our solar system, not to mention the vast Milky Way. Like our ancestors, we cannot help wondering what else there may be in our vast universe.

遨游太空自古以来便是人类长久的梦想。然而，如今人们的足迹只到达了月球。地球和月球都只是太阳系的一小部分，更别提广阔的银河系了。正如同我们的祖先一样，我们不禁会想，广阔的宇宙中到底还有哪些未知的事物。

The Voyager probes might be able to give us the answer one day. According to NASA, Voyager 2 is getting close to the edge of our solar system.

“旅行者号”探测器或许有朝一日能够给我们答案。美国航空航天局表示，“旅行者2号”正在不断靠近太阳系的边缘。

Voyager 2 is now 17.7 billion kilometers away from Earth, according to Newsweek. It is now in the heliosphere, which marks the edge of our solar system.

据《新闻周刊》报道，目前，“旅行者2号”距离地球177亿公里。现在探测器正处于太阳系的边缘——日光层。

If Voyager 2 continues traveling at a fixed speed of 15.4 kilometers per second, it will probably leave our solar system in late 2019 or early 2020. It will become the second man made object to leave our solar system following its sister spacecraft Voyage 1, which did so in 2012.

如果“旅行者2号”继续按照每秒15.4公里的固定速度前进，或许将于2019年末或2020年初离开太阳系。该探测器将成为第二个离开太阳系的人造物体，此前，它的姐妹探测器“旅行者1号”于2012年飞离太阳系。

Since it launched in 1977, Voyager 2 has sent many messages back to us. “It has educated us to the unknown wonders of the universe and truly inspired humanity to continue to explore our solar system and beyond,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, told Universe Today, a US-based space and astronomy news website.

“旅行者2号”自1977年发射以来，便传回了不少信息。“它告诉了我们宇宙中不为人知的奇迹，真正激发了人类继续探索太阳系内外，”美国航空航天局科学任务局副局长托马斯·祖布臣在接受美国太空天文新闻网站“今日宇宙网”采访时表示。

Apart from exploring the vast universe, Voyager 2 is also carrying the message from Earth. According to the Washington Post, there is a golden record aboard the Voyager 2. It contains 115 images and sounds from Earth, ranging from an image of a chimpanzee to greetings in 55 languages. The record could serve as a “time capsule and transmit much more information about life on Earth, should extraterrestrials find it,” Smithsonian Magazine reported.?

除了探索广阔的宇宙之外，“旅行者2号”还载有来自地球的信息。据《华盛顿邮报》报道，“旅行者2号”上放有一张金唱片，内有地球上115段图像和声音，从大猩猩的图片到55种语言的问候语等等。据《史密森尼杂志》报道，“如果外星人能找到这张唱片，它能作为一个时间胶囊，传播更多地球生物的信息。”

However, extraterrestrials might not get the chance to find it. According to Popular Science, the nuclear batteries that power the Voyager probes may stop working around 2030.

然而，外星人们或许没有机会找到唱片了。据《科技新时代》杂志报道，驱动“旅行者号”探测器的核能电池或将于2030年前后停止工作。