Should Reach Furthest Point From The Sun On November 8

The Tesla Roadster that was sent into orbit with a mannequin dubbed "Starman" in the driver's seat has passed the orbit of Mars, and will soon reach the apogee of its orbit before starting back towards the sun.

Engadget reports that Starman and his roadster will reach their furthest point from the sun ... about 155 million miles ... on November 8th. And while the vehicle will start back towards the center of the solar system at that point, it will still be 2020 it makes a "close approach" to Earth, and it will still be 32 million miles away.

The car will still be closer to Mars at that point ... about 4.6 million miles. In fact, Ben Pearson, an astronomer who is tracking Starman's orbit, predicts that there will not be a truly close visit to the home planted until about 2091.

Pearson predicts that Starman will reach his furthest point from Earth, at least in the near term, on February 20, 2019. At that point, the distance will be some 2.446 AU or 227 million miles.

(Images tweeted by SpaceX and from file)

FMI: Source report