09-14-2013, 05:35 PM
nachoman Wrote:Puddlejumper - your questions border more on philosophy than science. Time is relative and not absolute, and the definition of "now" is also relative, and mostly useless when dealing on the scales of solar systems or universes. If you are asking when the probe actually left the solar system relative to the Earth's time and calendar, yes it was some time in the past that it actually happened - but that really is irrelevant because the universe does not beat to the same time clock as earth. It's like the tree falling in the woods.
However, we humans use the same clock Voyager does, so the issue is relevant...and the answer is YES - if a tree falls in the woods with no one round, it still makes noise. Sound waves are sound waves, receiver or not.