Sonali Tiwary
Voyager 1 Reaches One Light-Day on Nov 18: How to Join NASA’s ‘VGR’ Morse Code Flash & Live Briefing
After 49 years, 2 months, and 13 days in space, Voyager 1 is crossing a threshold no human-made object has ever touched. The Voyager 1 one light day milestone arrives this week. The spacecraft will sit one full light-day from Earth. NASA is inviting the public to take part.
Voyager 1 crosses one light-day on Nov. 18, 2026, at 5:16:07 a.m. EST (2:16:07 a.m. PST). Its distance from Earth will be 16,094,799,096 miles, or 25.9 billion kilometers. Launched in 1977, it is the most distant human-made object. It travels at about 38,000 mph. A radio signal now needs 24 hours to make the one-way trip between the spacecraft and Earth. A question sent today gets heard tomorrow. Any reply takes another day to return. NASA Science lists the crossing time to the second. Voyager 1 keeps moving afterward. Its distance grows every second.
The public can join the Shine Bright for Voyager Light-Day Morse code event on Nov. 17. At sunset, people flash a light to spell “VGR” in Morse code. On Nov. 19, NASA will hold a briefing at JPL. The event is described in NASA Release M26-086.
Voyager 1 one light-day compared with other cosmic distances
Light travels at a fixed speed, so its travel time makes a simple ruler. One light-day equals 24 light-hours. This table shows how far that reaches.
| Object | Light travel time from Earth |
|---|---|
| Moon | 1.3 light-seconds |
| Sun | 8.3 light-minutes |
| Mars | 3 to 22 light-minutes |
| Neptune | 4 hours 10 minutes |
| Voyager 1 | 1 light-day |
| Gliese 445 (Voyager 1’s destination) | In about 40,000 years |
Voyager 1 is nearly six times farther out than Neptune on this scale. Gliese 445 is the star it is headed toward. Its twin, Voyager 2, is on a different path. It will not reach one light-day until November 2035. Voyager 2 launched earlier but travels more slowly away from the Sun. Read more in our Voyager 1 coverage, space exploration news, and NASA science stories.
A photon of light covers one light-day in 24 hours. A flash at the Nov. 17 sunset starts a day-long journey outward. Voyager 1 reaches the same distance on Nov. 18. The two events sit about one day apart. The NASA “Shine Bright” event on Nov. 17 is a symbolic gesture—the photons from the flash will reach Voyager’s distance roughly when the spacecraft crosses the one-light-day mark.
How far is one light day in miles?
One light-day is the distance light travels in 24 hours. In miles, it is about 16.09 billion, or 16,094,799,096 miles. In kilometers, it is about 25.9 billion. Light moves at roughly 186,282 miles per second. That speed times the 86,400 seconds in a day gives about 16.09 billion miles; Voyager 1’s exact distance is 16,094,799,096 miles (NASA Science).
NASA will stream the Nov. 19 briefing live from the von Kármán Auditorium at JPL. Watch at nasa.gov/live. NASA also previews a 2027 NASA+ documentary about the mission. The briefing covers the milestone and what comes next for Voyager 1. The flash on Nov. 17, the crossing on Nov. 18, and the briefing on Nov. 19 make a three-day sequence.
