Voyager 1 entered interstellar space on August 25 2012 heading toward the northwest of the center of the Milky Way Although traveling at over 38,600 mph 62,100 km h the probe will take 40,000 years to fly by the nearest star in the constellation Camelopardalis Gliese 445
INTRODUCTION Beyond our Solar System lie 300 billion stars in our home galaxy the Milky Way Yet the Milky Way is only one among hundreds of billions of galaxies in the known Universe The nearest star to our Sun is over 24 trillion miles 38 trillion kilometers away and reaching it is far beyond our current technology But the 21st century is bringing amazing advances in our exploration of deep space We have found alien planets studied black holes and gained insights into the origins of the Universe itself What incredible events will the coming years bring Planets beyond our Solar System range from rare gas giants several times larger than Jupiter to more common Neptune-sized planets to less numerous smaller planets or Super-Earths These last kinds like those orbiting in the triple star system of Gliese 667 are the best candidates for supporting life
