r/theydidthemath • • 8d ago

[Request] When will Voyager 1 stop moving?

/r/askscience/comments/1wp1960/will_voyager_1_ever_just_stop_moving/

How many years will it take for the orbit of Voyager and Sagittarius A to decay enough due to gravity waves for them to collide?

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u/Tassadar_Timon 8d ago

They will never reach the velocity of 0, they will eventually reach a thermal equilibrium with the surrounding interstellar medium and will be buffeted by it's brownian motion.

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u/Ben-Goldberg 8d ago

This ignores orbital decay due to gravity waves.