Voyager 2 Update

[douglas9401]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66408851

[Old_Geezer]

That's good.

[naomi24]

Superb.

[Hymie]

Having reached the orbit of Pluto in the early 1990s, the probe does not now have any close encounters with celestial bodies which to photograph.

Many of the craft’s instruments have been switched off to conserve energy; by 2026 it is estimated that there will be no available energy to operate any onboard instruments, and the probe will continue on its journey based on its momentum, travelling at about 35,000 mph.

[Peter Pedant]

The probes were designed to take advantage of a rare alignment of outer planets, which occurs about every 176 years, to explore Jupiter and Saturn.

I think this was picked up by hand - someone was looking at an orrery or computer simulation and said " golly gosh do you realise...."

on board power 150 W.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2

[Peter Pedant]

yeah 1977, we were promised that it would whiz outside the heliosphere, and experience a 'cold death' as the fuel ran out