[Physics] View of the Sun from Voyager 1

astronomyobservational-astronomy

Today Voyager 1 is approximately 122 AU distance from the Sun. What does the sun look like from this distance? How much brighter does the sun appear to the naked eye compared to other stars in the same field of view? Are any of the other planets from our solar system visible to the naked eye at this distance? Would the sun produce enough light for a normal person to read a book, or would the light be too dark for reading (just trying to get a practical feel of the amount of light)?

Best Answer

The sun would be similar in size as to many other fuzzy point-like stars in the sky. Its luminosity is pretty low at such a distance (about 122 Earth-sun distance). As Martin says, it is indeed a moon-light view.

This image is more or less similar to the 122 AU view. Thanks to Celestia (an amazing environment where I wonder about space) for this wonderful view. My travel through the solar system caught all the eight planets. The rock giants are not at all visible. But while clicking randomly around there somewhere, we could get the four planets. Jupiter is visible (like the other stars) at this distance (being somewhat big). It also pinpointed Saturn, Uranus & Neptune. But, we can't see any of them.

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