this space craft, apparently, flew right past Jupiter at a distance of 1.4 million miles (that's 2.5 million km to us metric thinkers) at its closest, which, in turn, reduced the duration of its entire flight by 3 years down to 9 from 12.
yes, of course we are all aware that dimensions of time and distance in space are mind-bogglingly gigantic. but that doesn't stop us from being amazed by it all over and over again!
the probe was launched in Jan 06 at a speed of 9,000 mph (14,484 kph), only to be catapulted on its further journey at a massive 52,000 mph (83,686 kph).... current ETA: 2015. and here we were, thinking a flight from Germany to Australia was long (covering a mere 9,995 miles (16,085 km) - presumably travelling in a straight line, though.....but we won't get too bogged down in details now, will we?)
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