Will Voyager 1 leave our solar system?

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Voyager 1
This artist rendering provided by NASA shows Voyager 1 at the possible edge of the solar system. NASA said Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 that the long-running spacecraft has entered a new region at the fringes of the solar system thought to be the last layer before the beginning of interstellar space, or the space between stars.
AP Photo/NASA

Some space scientists have started to make noise about Voyager 1 reaching the edge of the solar system. The craft, which was launched in 1977, is expected to pass out of our solar system into interstellar space.

However, scientists aren't exactly sure how we'll know when that happens.

So how will we know when we finally make it into the great unknown, and what do we hope to discover there?

LEARN MORE ABOUT VOYAGER 1

• How far can voyager 1 go? Ken Croswell in Smithsonian

• Going, Going, Still Going? Voyager 1 at Solar System's Edge - The New York Times

• Where's Voyager 1? That Depends. - The New York Times

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