this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2026
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It is amazing they can detect and communicate to something with such a weak signal so far away.
So far away that it takes an entire day to get the signal to it. The earth to the sun is 8 minutes.
And somehow we can still talk to it. It's amazing.
About 1/3 of a % of a lightyear that's hardcore that we've gotten something out that far.
It also gives you an idea of how big space is. Lots and lots of nothing.
I was actually looking into this a little bit recently and it turns out the Voyager spacecraft launched with 23 watt radio transmitters but at the distance it takes a 72 meter dish to capture the signal and at its capture it is one attowatt. I don't remember my system right offhand, but it's something like a billionth of a billionth of a watt. It's stupidly small.
This, coupled with the improbable idea that it could be "found" someday, has got to be one of the most exciting and magical concepts in science ever
1-2 day ETA for an interstellar telegram lol