I’ve gotten several questions about when will Voyager I pass the one-light dy threshold. Here is my snswer>
No one really knows. Țhe estimates are sometime in October of this year. It could be sooner or later though.
There are a couple of reasons for the guess work. One is the orbital distance of the earth. One is the speed of Voyager itself as you all know orbital mechanics are difficult when you have to take into account multiple bodies: solar system, Ort cloud, Vger, etceteras. A good bet though is Halloween or Thanksgiving of this year. I’m hoping for sometime around early November so we can celebrate getting our country back but Thanksgiving is just fine too (and perhaps more appropriate).
I rather expect NASA to make a big deal out of Voyager I getting to the 1-light day, 1-way point.
Clark