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Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light‑Day

On Tuesday, Nov. 17, celebrate a once-in-human-history moment by creating a wave of golden light.

An artist's concept illustration of the Voyager 1 spacecraft in deep space. The probe is viewed from the side against a starry background, highlighting its large radio dish, which has been tinted a shiny gold for this image., a long lattice boom extending to the left, and a cluster of instruments extending to the right. A bright glint of light reflects off the bottom of the dish.

  • NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to reach an extraordinary milestone, a distance from home reached by no other human-made object: one light-day away from Earth.

    After sunset on Tuesday, Nov. 17, we invite you to “Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light-Day” by lighting a signal skyward, joining a worldwide celebration of this historic moment, nearly 50 years in the making. 

    To participate, play our automated flasher — or grab a flashlight and shine V-G-R in Morse code.

    A simple act. A shared moment. A celebration of humanity’s farthest reach.

    A bright gold background features letters and symbols in a pale gold color, almost beige, at center. The bold capital letters VGR fill most of the center, and underneath them are dots and dashes representing the Morse code for each letter, dot-dot-dot-dash for V, dash-dash-dot for G, and dot-dash-dot for R.

This artistic graphic illustrates Voyager 2's journey into interstellar space.

What Is a Light-Day?

It's a measure of distance, not time. And it's very, VERY far.

A bright gold background features letters and symbols in a pale gold color, almost beige, at center. The bold capital letters VGR fill most of the center, and underneath them are dots and dashes representing the Morse code for each letter, dot-dot-dot-dash for V, dash-dash-dot for G, and dot-dash-dot for R.

Automated VGR Flasher

Point this skyward on your phone or tablet, and it flashes V-G-R for you.

How Do I ‘Shine Bright’?

Watch this video, and see how to hail Voyager.

CME passing Voyager

‘Shine Bright’ Step-by-Step

Want to send the signal yourself? Here's your Morse code how-to.

How to Participate

Use our Automated “V-G-R” Flasher to send your signal to Voyager, or if you want to try Morse code yourself, see our “Shine Bright” Step-by-Step instructions below.

To amplify this global celebration, we encourage you to capture photos or video of your light‑day signal and share it on social platforms, tagging @NASA. Keep an eye out and see if your neighbors, or even local landmarks are joining in, as Earth spotlights Voyager's incredible achievement.

Your light can be tiny, but the moment is huge. Shine bright, go gold, and join a global wave of light honoring Voyager’s journey into the deep unknown.

Automated “V-G-R” Flasher

  • Hold the phone, we'll send the signal

    On Nov. 17 after sunset, open our ready-made flasher in your smart phone or tablet’s web browser, point your device toward the sky, and signal Voyager’s call sign — V-G-R – in Morse code.

    Launch the “V-G-R” Flasher

A bright gold background features letters and symbols in a pale gold color, almost beige, at center. The bold capital letters VGR fill most of the center, and underneath them are dots and dashes representing the Morse code for each letter, dot-dot-dot-dash for V, dash-dash-dot for G, and dot-dash-dot for R.

DIY “Shine Bright” — Morse Code Step-by-Step

  • 01

    Get Your Light Ready

    After sunset on Tuesday, Nov. 17, grab a flashlight, glow stick, solar lantern, bike light, or your phone, and point it to the sky. Get ready to turn your light off and on. You can use the switch or cover the light, such as with your hand or some cardboard.

    Morse code is made of dots and dashes. When using light to show Morse code, dots are represented by quick flashes, less than a second each. Dashes are represented by longer flashes of light, about one second long.

    Pause briefly between the dots and dashes that are making up one letter. Pause for a second or more between each letter.

  • 02

    Flash "V"

    In Morse code, V is . . . -

    Shine three quick flashes and one long flash (dot-dot-dot-dash). Wait a second or more before moving on to G.

  • 03

    Flash "G"

    In Morse code, G is - - .

    Shine two long flashes and one quick flash (dash-dash-dot). Wait a second or more before moving on to R.

  • 04

    Flash "R"

    In Morse code, R is . - .

    Shine one quick flash, one long flash, and one more quick flash (dot-dash-dot).

  • 05

    Repeat Your Code

    Do it again! Remember the pattern:

    V: Three quick flashes and one long flash.
    G: Two long flashes and one quick flash.
    R: One quick flash, one long flash, one quick flash.

    Repeat for around one minute — or until your arm gets tired!

  • 06

    Share Online

    Tell your friends and neighbors; post a video and tag @NASA

    Then check out who else joined the worldwide celebration!

A golden record album with The Sounds of Earth United States of America, Planet Earth and etched with "To the makers of music, all worlds, all time."

Did you know...

Voyager already knows Morse code! The Golden Record, the interstellar greeting card carried by both Voyager 1 and 2 that is inscribed with music, sounds from our planet, and messages from the people of Earth, includes one in Morse code: “Ad astra per aspera,” which is Latin for “through struggle to the stars.”

Learn More

Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun. Voyager 1 reached the interstellar boundary in 2012, while Voyager 2 (traveling slower and in a different direction than its twin) reached it in 2018. Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/

What Is a Light-Day?

The milestone Voyager 1 is closing on is about distance, not time. And it's very, very far. Learn all about it.

NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977, are now traveling through interstellar space at around 35,000 mph (56,000 kph). This artist's concept depicts one of the probes speeding away.

Where Are Voyager 1 and 2 Now?

Check the cosmic odometer for each spacecraft, and watch the miles roll over by the second — in real time.

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft entering interstellar space. Interstellar space is dominated by the plasma, or ionized gas, that was ejected by the death of nearby giant stars millions of years ago.

More About Voyager 1

What has it discovered in its nearly 50-year journey? Which of its instruments are still operating? What do you want to know about the Pale Blue Dot and the Golden Record?

The Andromeda galaxy, or M31, is shown here in far-infrared and radio wavelengths of light.

How Big Is Space?

Listen to Episode 61 of “We Asked a NASA Expert.” (Spoiler: in getting to an answer, “things get really weird.”)

Black background dotted with galaxies. A reddish galaxy at image center with a bluish-white arc above it. Below it to the right it a yellowish swirling galaxy, and at the top center is a blue-white spiral galaxy. Other spiral and elliptical galaxies appear smaller throughout the image, as they are farther away.

Cosmic Distances

The space beyond Earth is so incredibly vast that, when expressed in miles and kilometers — the units of measure from our everyday lives — the numbers grow impossibly big.

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