To boldly (yet quietly)go where no probehas gone before...

"NASA's intrepid Voyager 1 space probe has begun its journey to the stars and is now exploring the farthest reaches of the Sun's influence where the solar wind strangely interacts with interstellar space, agency officials formally announced on Tuesday.

"Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2 were both launched aboard Titan rockets from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1977 to embark on a 'grand tour' to visit the outer planets. Both are now approaching their 28th birthdays and continue on extended missions to beam data back to Earth as it leaves the solar system headed for interstellar space.

"Officials say Voyager 1 crossed what is known as the termination shock around December 16 of 2004 to enter the heliosheath -- a place unlike any ever visited in the solar system. The boundary crossed in December marks a point where charged particles constantly emitted from the Sun called the solar wind slow down from hundreds of miles per second to subsonic speeds. This is due to pressure from the interstellar wind, or the gas blowing between stars likely resulting from ancient nearby supernovae."