document_title: Voyager 2

question_text: what did the voyager 2 discover about neptune

text: Voyager 2

text: History[edit]

text: Background[edit]

text: In the early space age, it was realized that a coincidental alignment of the outer planets would occur in the late 1970s and enable a single probe to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune by taking advantage of the then-new technique of gravity assists. NASA began work on a Grand Tour, which evolved into a massive project involving two groups of two probes each, with one group visiting Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto and the other Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The spacecraft would be designed with redundant systems to ensure survival through the entire tour. By 1972 the mission was scaled back and replaced with two Mariner-derived spacecraft, the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn probes. To keep apparent lifetime program costs low, the mission would include only flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, but keep the Grand Tour option open.[4]:263 As the program progressed, the name was changed to Voyager.[10]

text: The primary mission of Voyager 1 was to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's moon, Titan. Voyager 2 was also to explore Jupiter and Saturn, but on a trajectory that would have option of continuing on to Uranus and Neptune, or being redirected to Titan as a backup for Voyager 1. Upon successful completion of Voyager 1's objectives, Voyager 2 would get a mission extension to send the probe on towards Uranus and Neptune.[4]

text: Spacecraft design[edit]

text: Constructed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Voyager 2 included 16 hydrazine thrusters, three-axis stabilization, gyroscopes and celestial referencing instruments (Sun sensor/Canopus Star Tracker) to maintain pointing of the high-gain antenna toward Earth. Collectively these instruments are part of the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) along with redundant units of most instruments and 8 backup thrusters. The spacecraft also included 11 scientific instruments to study celestial objects as it traveled through space.[11]

text: Communications[edit]

text: Built with the intent for eventual interstellar travel, Voyager 2 included a large, 3.7 m (12 ft) parabolic, high-gain antenna (see diagram) to transceive data via the Deep Space Network on the Earth. Communications are conducted over the S-band (about 13 cm wavelength) and X-band (about 3.6 cm wavelength) providing data rates as high as 115.2 kilobits per second at the distance of Jupiter, and then ever-decreasing as the distance increased, because of the inverse-square law. When the spacecraft is unable to communicate with Earth, the Digital Tape Recorder (DTR) can record about 64 kilobytes of data for transmission at another time.[12]

text: Power[edit]

text: The spacecraft was equipped with 3 Multihundred-Watt radioisotope thermoelectric generators (MHW RTG). Each RTG includes 24 pressed plutonium oxide spheres, and provided enough heat to generate approximately 157 W of electrical power at launch. Collectively, the RTGs supplied the spacecraft with 470 watts at launch, and will allow operations to continue until at least 2020.[11][13][14]

text:
RTG Inner Heat Source

RTG Assembly

RTG unit

tag: ul

text: Scientific instruments[edit]

text:
Instrument Name

Abr.

Description

Imaging Science System (disabled)

(ISS)

Utilizes a two-camera system (narrow-angle/wide-angle) to provide imagery of Jupiter, Saturn and other objects along the trajectory. More

hideFilters

Narrow Angle Camera Filters[15]

Name

Wavelength

Spectrum

Sensitivity

Clear

280 nm – 640 nm

UV

280 nm – 370 nm

Violet

350 nm – 450 nm

Blue

430 nm – 530 nm

'

'

'

Green

530 nm – 640 nm

'

'

'

Orange

590 nm – 640 nm

'

'

'

Wide Angle Camera Filters[16]

Name

Wavelength

Spectrum

Sensitivity

Clear

280 nm – 640 nm

'

'

'

Violet

350 nm – 450 nm

Blue

430 nm – 530 nm

CH4-U

536 nm – 546 nm

Green

530 nm – 640 nm

Na-D

588 nm – 590 nm

Orange

590 nm – 640 nm

CH4-JST

614 nm – 624 nm

Principal investigator: Bradford Smith / University of Arizona (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PDI data catalog , PDS/PRN data catalog

Radio Science System (disabled)

(RSS)

Utilized the telecommunications system of the Voyager spacecraft to determine the physical properties of planets and satellites (ionospheres, atmospheres, masses, gravity fields, densities) and the amount and size distribution of material in Saturn's rings and the ring dimensions. More
Principal investigator: G. Tyler / Stanford University PDS/PRN overview
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, PDS/PRN data catalog (VG_2803), NSSDC Saturn data archive

Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (disabled)

(IRIS)

Investigates both global and local energy balance and atmospheric composition. Vertical temperature profiles are also obtained from the planets and satellites as well as the composition, thermal properties, and size of particles in Saturn's rings. More
Principal investigator: Rudolf Hanel / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog, PDS/PRN expanded data catalog (VGIRIS_0001, VGIRIS_002)

Ultraviolet Spectrometer (disabled)

(UVS)

Designed to measure atmospheric properties, and to measure radiation. More
Principal investigator: A. Broadfoot / University of Southern California (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog

Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (active)

(MAG)

Designed to investigate the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn, the solar-wind interaction with the magnetospheres of these planets, and the interplanetary magnetic field out to the solar wind boundary with the interstellar magnetic field and beyond, if crossed. More
Principal investigator: Norman Ness / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (website)
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, NSSDC data archive

Plasma Spectrometer (active)

(PLS)

Investigates the macroscopic properties of the plasma ions and measures electrons in the energy range from 5 eV to 1 keV. More
Principal investigator: John Richardson / MIT (website)
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog, NSSDC data archive

Low Energy Charged Particle Instrument (active)

(LECP)

Measures the differential in energy fluxes and angular distributions of ions, electrons and the differential in energy ion composition. More
Principal investigator: Stamatios Krimigis / JHU/APL / University of Maryland (JHU/APL website / UMD website / KU website)
Data: UMD data plotting, PDS/PPI data catalog, NSSDC data archive

Cosmic Ray System (active)

(CRS)

Determines the origin and acceleration process, life history, and dynamic contribution of interstellar cosmic rays, the nucleosynthesis of elements in cosmic-ray sources, the behavior of cosmic rays in the interplanetary medium, and the trapped planetary energetic-particle environment. More
Principal investigator: Edward Stone / Caltech / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (website)
Data: NSSDC data archive

Planetary Radio Astronomy Investigation (disabled)

(PRA)

Utilizes a sweep-frequency radio receiver to study the radio-emission signals from Jupiter and Saturn. More Voyager: Sounds Of The Cosmos, the Album made from Voyager's PRA Instrument Recordings
Principal investigator: James Warwick / University of Colorado
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog

Photopolarimeter System (disabled)

(PPS)

Utilized a telescope with a polarizer to gather information on surface texture and composition of Jupiter and Saturn and information on atmospheric scattering properties and density for both planets. More
Principal investigator: Arthur Lane / JPL (PDS/PRN website)
Data: PDS/PRN data catalog

Plasma Wave System (partially disabled)

(PWS)

Provides continuous, sheath-independent measurements of the electron-density profiles at Jupiter and Saturn as well as basic information on local wave-particle interaction, useful in studying the magnetospheres. More
Principal investigator: Donald Gurnett / University of Iowa (website)
Data: PDS/PPI data catalog

text: For more details on the Voyager space probes' identical instrument packages, see the separate article on the overall Voyager Program.

text: Mission profile[edit]

text: Voyager 2's trajectory from the earth, following the ecliptic through 1989 at Neptune and now heading south into the constellation Pavo

text:
Timeline of travel

Date

Event

1977-08-20

Spacecraft launched at 14:29:00 UTC.

1977-12-10

Entered asteroid belt.

1977-12-19

Voyager 1 overtakes Voyager 2. (see diagram)

1978-06

Primary radio receiver fails. Remainder of mission flown using backup.

1978-10-21

Exited asteroid belt

1979-04-25

Start Jupiter observation phase

showTime

Event

1979-07-08

Encounter with Jovian system.

0012:21

Callisto flyby at 214,930 km.

1979-07-09

0007:14

Ganymede flyby at 62,130 km.

0017:53

Europa flyby at 205,720 km.

0020:01

Amalthea flyby at 558,370 km.

0022:29

Jupiter closest approach at 721,670 km from the center of mass.

0023:17

Io flyby at 1,129,900 km.

1979-08-05

Phase Stop

1981-06-05

Start Saturn observation phase.

showTime

Event

1981-08-22

Encounter with Saturnian system.

0001:26:57

Iapetus flyby at 908,680 km.

1981-08-25

0001:25:26

Hyperion flyby at 431,370 km.

0009:37:46

Titan flyby at 666,190 km.

0022:57:33

Helene flyby at 314,090 km.

1981-08-26

0001:04:32

Dione flyby at 502,310 km.

0002:22:17

Calypso flyby at 151,590 km.

0002:24:26

Mimas flyby at 309,930 km.

0003:19:18

Pandora flyby at 107,000 km.

0003:24:05

Saturn closest approach at 161,000 km from the center of mass.

0003:33:02

Atlas 287,000 km.

0003:45:16

Enceladus flyby at 87,010 km.

0003:50:04

Janus at 223,000 km.

0004:05:56

Epimetheus at 147,000 km.

0006:02:47

Telesto at 270,000 km.

0006:12:30

Tethys flyby at 93,010 km.

0006:28:48

Rhea flyby at 645,260 km.

1981-09-04

0001:22:34

Phoebe flyby at 2,075,640 km.

1981-09-25

Phase Stop

1985-11-04

Start Uranus observation phase.

showTime

Event

1986-01-24

Encounter with Uranian system.

0016:50

Miranda flyby at 29,000 km.

0017:25

Ariel flyby at 127,000 km.

0017:25

Umbriel flyby at 325,000 km.

0017:25

Titania flyby at 365,200 km.

0017:25

Oberon flyby at 470,600 km.

0017:59:47

Uranus closest approach at 107,000 km from the center of mass.

1986-02-25

Phase Stop

1987-08-20

10 years of continuous flight and operation at 14:29:00 UTC.

1989-06-05

Start Neptune observation phase.

showTime

Event

1989-08-25

Encounter with Neptunian system.

0003:56:36

Neptune closest approach at 4,950 km.

0004:51

Larissa flyby at 60,180 km.

0005:29

Proteus flyby at 97,860 km.

0009:23

Triton flyby at 39,800 km.

1989-10-02

Phase Stop

1989-10-02

Begin Voyager Interstellar Mission.

Interstellar phase[17][18][19]

1997-08-20

20 years of continuous flight and operation at 14:29:00 UTC.

1998-11-13

Terminate scan platform and UV observations.

2007-08-20

30 years of continuous flight and operation at 14:29:00 UTC.

2007-09-06

Terminate data tape recorder operations.

2008-02-22

Terminate planetary radio astronomy experiment operations.

2011-11-07

Switch to backup thrusters to conserve power[20]

2017-08-20

40 years of continuous flight and operation at 14:29:00 UTC.

text: Launch and trajectory[edit]

text: The Voyager 2 probe was launched on August 20, 1977, by NASA from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle. Two weeks later, the twin Voyager 1 probe would be launched on September 5, 1977. However, Voyager 1 would reach both Jupiter and Saturn sooner, as Voyager 2 had been launched into a longer, more circular trajectory.

text:
Voyager 2 launch on August 20, 1977 with a Titan IIIE/Centaur.

Animation of Voyager 2's trajectory from 20 August 1977 to 31 December 2018   Voyager 2  ·   Earth ·   Jupiter  ·   Saturn ·   Uranus  ·   Neptune  ·   Sun

Trajectory of Voyager 2 primary mission.

Plot of Voyager 2's heliocentric velocity against its distance from the Sun, illustrating the use of gravity assists to accelerate the spacecraft by Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. To observe Triton, Voyager 2 passed over Neptune's north pole, resulting in an acceleration out of the plane of the ecliptic, and, as a result, a reduced velocity relative to the Sun.[21]

text: In April 1978, a complication arose when no commands were transmitted to Voyager 2 for a period of time, causing the spacecraft to switch from its primary radio receiver to its backup receiver.[22] Sometime afterwards, the primary receiver failed altogether. The backup receiver was functional, but a failed capacitor in the receiver meant that it could only receive transmissions that were sent at a precise frequency, and this frequency would be affected by the Earth's rotation (due to the Doppler effect) and the onboard receiver's temperature, among other things.[22][23][24] For each subsequent transmission to Voyager 2, it was necessary for engineers to calculate the specific frequency for the signal so that it could be received by the spacecraft.

text: Encounter with Jupiter[edit]

text: Voyager 2's closest approach to Jupiter occurred on July 9, 1979. It came within 570,000 km (350,000 mi) of the planet's cloud tops.[25] It discovered a few rings around Jupiter, as well as volcanic activity on the moon Io.

text: The Great Red Spot was revealed as a complex storm moving in a counterclockwise direction. An array of other smaller storms and eddies were found throughout the banded clouds.

text: Discovery of active volcanism on Io was easily the greatest unexpected discovery at Jupiter. It was the first time active volcanoes had been seen on another body in the Solar System. Together, the Voyagers observed the eruption of nine volcanoes on Io, and there is evidence that other eruptions occurred between the two Voyager fly-bys.

text: The moon Europa displayed a large number of intersecting linear features in the low-resolution photos from Voyager 1. At first, scientists believed the features might be deep cracks, caused by crustal rifting or tectonic processes. The closer high-resolution photos from Voyager 2, however, left scientists puzzled: The features were so lacking in topographic relief that as one scientist described them, they "might have been painted on with a felt marker." Europa is internally active due to tidal heating at a level about one-tenth that of Io. Europa is thought to have a thin crust (less than 30 km (19 mi) thick) of water ice, possibly floating on a 50-kilometer-deep (30 mile) ocean.

text: Two new, small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, were found orbiting just outside the ring. A third new satellite, Thebe, was discovered between the orbits of Amalthea and Io.

text: Encounter with Saturn[edit]

text: The closest approach to Saturn occurred on August 26, 1981.[26]

text: While passing behind Saturn (as viewed from Earth), Voyager 2 probed Saturn's upper atmosphere with its radio link to gather information on atmospheric temperature and density profiles. Voyager 2 found that at the uppermost pressure levels (seven kilopascals of pressure), Saturn's temperature was 70 kelvins (−203 °C), while at the deepest levels measured (120 kilopascals) the temperature increased to 143 K (−130 °C). The north pole was found to be 10 kelvins cooler, although this may be seasonal (see also Saturn Oppositions).

text: After the fly-by of Saturn, the camera platform of Voyager 2 locked up briefly, putting plans to officially extend the mission to Uranus and Neptune in jeopardy. The mission's engineers were able to fix the problem (caused by an overuse that temporarily depleted its lubricant), and the Voyager 2 probe was given the go-ahead to explore the Uranian system.

text: Encounter with Uranus[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The closest approach to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986, when Voyager 2 came within 81,500 kilometers (50,600 mi) of the planet's cloud tops. Voyager 2 also discovered the moons Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda, Perdita and Puck; studied the planet's unique atmosphere, caused by its axial tilt of 97.8°; and examined the Uranian ring system.

text: Uranus is the third largest (Neptune has a larger mass, but a smaller volume) planet in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of about 2.8 billion kilometers (1.7 billion miles), and it completes one orbit every 84 Earth years. The length of a day on Uranus as measured by Voyager 2 is 17 hours, 14 minutes. Uranus is unique among the planets in that its axial tilt is about 90°, meaning that its axis is roughly parallel with, not perpendicular to, the plane of the ecliptic. This extremely large tilt of its axis is thought to be the result of a collision between the accumulating planet Uranus with another planet-sized body early in the history of the Solar System. Given the unusual orientation of its axis, with the polar regions of Uranus exposed for periods of many years to either continuous sunlight or darkness, planetary scientists were not at all sure what to expect when observing Uranus.

text: Voyager 2 found that one of the most striking effects of the sideways orientation of Uranus is the effect on the tail of the planetary magnetic field. This is itself tilted about 60° from the Uranian axis of rotation. The planet's magneto tail was shown to be twisted by the rotation of Uranus into a long corkscrew shape following the planet. The presence of a significant magnetic field for Uranus was not at all known until Voyager 2's arrival.

text: The radiation belts of Uranus were found to be of an intensity similar to those of Saturn. The intensity of radiation within the Uranian belts is such that irradiation would "quickly" darken — within 100,000 years — any methane that is trapped in the icy surfaces of the inner moons and ring particles. This kind of darkening might have contributed to the darkened surfaces of the moons and the ring particles, which are almost uniformly dark gray in color.

text: A high layer of haze was detected around the sunlit pole of Uranus. This area was also found to radiate large amounts of ultraviolet light, a phenomenon that is called "dayglow." The average atmospheric temperature is about 60 K (−350°F/−213°C). Surprisingly, the illuminated and dark poles, and most of the planet, exhibit nearly the same temperatures at the cloud tops.

text: The Uranian moon Miranda, the innermost of the five large moons, was discovered to be one of the strangest bodies yet seen in the Solar System. Detailed images from Voyager 2's flyby of Miranda showed huge canyons made from geological faults as deep as 20 kilometers (12 mi), terraced layers, and a mixture of old and young surfaces. One hypothesis suggests that Miranda might consist of a reaggregation of material following an earlier event when Miranda was shattered into pieces by a violent impact.

text: All nine of the previously known Uranian rings were studied by the instruments of Voyager 2. These measurements showed that the Uranian rings are distinctly different from those at Jupiter and Saturn. The Uranian ring system might be relatively young, and it did not form at the same time that Uranus did. The particles that make up the rings might be the remnants of a moon that was broken up by either a high-velocity impact or torn up by tidal effects.

text: Encounter with Neptune[edit]

text: Following a mid-course correction in 1987, Voyager 2's closest approach to Neptune occurred on August 25, 1989.[27][28][29] Because this was the last planet of the Solar System that Voyager 2 could visit, the Chief Project Scientist, his staff members, and the flight controllers decided to also perform a close fly-by of Triton, the larger of Neptune's two originally known moons, so as to gather as much information on Neptune and Triton as possible, regardless of Voyager 2's departure angle from the planet. This was just like the case of Voyager 1's encounters with Saturn and its massive moon Titan.

text: Through repeated computerized test simulations of trajectories through the Neptunian system conducted in advance, flight controllers determined the best way to route Voyager 2 through the Neptune-Triton system. Since the plane of the orbit of Triton is tilted significantly with respect to the plane of the ecliptic, through mid-course corrections, Voyager 2 was directed into a path about three thousand miles above the north pole of Neptune.[30] At that time, Triton was behind and below (south of) Neptune (at an angle of about 25 degrees below the ecliptic), close to the apoapsis of its elliptical orbit. The gravitational pull of Neptune bent the trajectory of Voyager 2 down in the direction of Triton. In less than 24 hours, Voyager 2 traversed the distance between Neptune and Triton, and then observed Triton's northern hemisphere as it passed over its north pole.

text: The net and final effect on Voyager 2 was to bend its trajectory south below the plane of the ecliptic by about 30 degrees. Voyager 2 is on this path permanently, and hence, it is exploring space south of the plane of the ecliptic, measuring magnetic fields, charged particles, etc., there, and sending the measurements back to the Earth via telemetry.

text: While in the neighborhood of Neptune, Voyager 2 discovered the "Great Dark Spot", which has since disappeared, according to observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. Originally thought to be a large cloud itself, the "Great Dark Spot" was later hypothesized to be a hole in the visible cloud deck of Neptune.

text: With the decision of the International Astronomical Union to reclassify Pluto as a "dwarf planet" in 2006, the flyby of Neptune by Voyager 2 in 1989 became the point when every known planet in the Solar System had been visited at least once by a space probe.

text: Interstellar mission[edit]

text: Once its planetary mission was over, Voyager 2 was described as working on an interstellar mission, which NASA is using to find out what the Solar System is like beyond the heliosphere. Voyager 2 is currently transmitting scientific data at about 160 bits per second. Information about continuing telemetry exchanges with Voyager 2 is available from Voyager Weekly Reports.[31]

text: On November 29, 2006, a telemetered command to Voyager 2 was incorrectly decoded by its on-board computer—in a random error—as a command to turn on the electrical heaters of the spacecraft's magnetometer. These heaters remained turned on until December 4, 2006, and during that time, there was a resulting high temperature above 130 °C (266 °F), significantly higher than the magnetometers were designed to endure, and a sensor rotated away from the correct orientation. As of this date it had not been possible to fully diagnose and correct for the damage caused to Voyager 2's magnetometer, although efforts to do so were proceeding.[32]

text: On August 30, 2007, Voyager 2 passed the termination shock and then entered into the heliosheath, approximately 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) closer to the Sun than Voyager 1 did.[33] This is due to the interstellar magnetic field of deep space. The southern hemisphere of the Solar System's heliosphere is being pushed in.[34]

text: On April 22, 2010, Voyager 2 encountered scientific data format problems.[35] On May 17, 2010, JPL engineers revealed that a flipped bit in an on-board computer had caused the issue, and scheduled a bit reset for May 19.[36] On May 23, 2010, Voyager 2 resumed sending science data from deep space after engineers fixed the flipped bit.[37] Currently research is being made into marking the area of memory with the flipped bit off limits or disallowing its use. The Low-Energy Charged Particle Instrument is currently operational, and data from this instrument concerning charged particles is being transmitted to Earth. This data permits measurements of the heliosheath and termination shock. There has also been a modification to the on-board flight software to delay turning off the AP Branch 2 backup heater for one year. It was scheduled to go off February 2, 2011 (DOY 033, 2011–033).

text: On July 25, 2012, Voyager 2 was traveling at 15.447 km/s relative to the Sun at about 99.13 astronomical units (1.4830×1010 km) from the Sun,[6] at −55.29° declination and 19.888 h right ascension, and also at an ecliptic latitude of −34.0 degrees, placing it in the constellation Telescopium as observed from Earth.[38] This location places it deep in the scattered disc, and traveling outward at roughly 3.264 AU per year. It is more than twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, and far beyond the perihelion of 90377 Sedna, but not yet beyond the outer limits of the orbit of the dwarf planet Eris.

text: On September 9, 2012, Voyager 2 was 99.077 AU (1.48217×1010 km; 9.2098×109 mi) from the Earth and 99.504 AU (1.48856×1010 km; 9.2495×109 mi) from the Sun; and traveling at 15.436 km/s (34,530 mph) (relative to the Sun) and traveling outward at about 3.256 AU per year.[39] Sunlight takes 13.73 hours to get to Voyager 2. The brightness of the Sun from the spacecraft is magnitude -16.7.[39] Voyager 2 is heading in the direction of the constellation Telescopium.[39] (To compare, Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is about 4.2 light-years (or 7016396434357355000♠2.65×105 AU) distant. Voyager 2's current relative velocity to the Sun is 15.436 km/s (55,570 km/h; 34,530 mph). This calculates as 3.254 AU per year, about 10% slower than Voyager 1. At this velocity, 81,438 years would pass before Voyager 2 reaches the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, were the spacecraft traveling in the direction of that star. (Voyager 2 will need about 19,390 years at its current velocity to travel a complete light year)

text: On November 7, 2012, Voyager 2 reached 100 AU from the sun, making it the third human-made object to reach 100 AU. Voyager 1 was 122 AU from the Sun, and Pioneer 10 is presumed to be at 107 AU. While Pioneer has ceased communications, both the Voyager spacecraft are performing well and are still communicating.

text: In 2013 Voyager 1 was escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year, while Voyager 2 was only escaping at 3.3 AU per year.[40] (Each year Voyager 1 increases its lead over Voyager 2)

text: By July 10, 2018, Voyager 2 was at a distance of 118 AU (1.77×1010 km) from the Sun.[6] There is a variation in distance from Earth caused by the Earth's revolution around the Sun relative to Voyager 2.[6]

text: Future of the probe[edit]

text: It was originally thought that Voyager 2 would enter interstellar space in early 2016, with its plasma spectrometer providing the first direct measurements of the density and temperature of the interstellar plasma.[41]

text: However, the spacecraft may instead reach interstellar space sometime in either late 2019 or early 2020, when it will reach a similar distance from the Sun as Voyager 1 did when it crossed into interstellar space back in 2012.  Voyager 2 is not headed toward any particular star, although in roughly 40,000 years it should pass 1.7 light-years from the star Ross 248.[42] And if undisturbed for 296,000 years, Voyager 2 should pass by the star Sirius at a distance of 4.3 light-years. Voyager 2 is expected to keep transmitting weak radio messages until at least 2025, over 48 years after it was launched.[43]

text:
Year
End of specific capabilities as a result of the available electrical power limitations[44]

1998
Termination of scan platform and UVS observations

2007
Termination of Digital Tape Recorder (DTR) operations (It was no longer needed due to a failure on the High Waveform Receiver on the Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) on June 30, 2002.[45])

2008
Power off Planetary Radio Astronomy Experiment (PRA)

2016 approx
Termination of gyroscopic operations

2020 approx
Initiate instrument power sharing

2025 or slightly afterwards
Can no longer power any single instrument

text: Golden record[edit]

text: Each Voyager space probe carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent life-forms from other planetary systems.[46] The discs carry photos of the Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, spoken greetings from the people (e.g. the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the United States, and the children of the Planet Earth) and a medley, "Sounds of Earth", that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore, and a collection of music, including works by Mozart, Blind Willie Johnson, Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", Valya Balkanska and other Eastern and Western classics and ethnic performers.[47] (see also Music in space)


document_title: Karoo

question_text: name the folded mountains of the western cape that enclose the little karoo

root

text: Karoo

text: Divisions[edit]

text: The Karoo is sharply divided into the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo by the Swartberg Mountain Range, which runs east-west, parallel to the southern coastline, but is separated from the sea by another east-west range called the Outeniqua –Langeberg Mountains. The Great Karoo lies to the north of the Swartberg range; the Little Karoo is to the south of it.

tag: p

text: Great Karoo[edit]

text: The only sharp and definite boundary of the Great Karoo is formed by the most inland ranges of Cape Fold Mountains to the south and south-west. The extent of the Karoo to the north is vague, fading gradually and almost imperceptibly into the increasingly arid Bushmanland towards the north-west. To the north and north-east it fades into the savannah and grasslands of Griqualand West and the Highveld.[1][10] The boundary to the east grades into the grasslands of the Eastern Midlands.[11] The Great Karoo is itself divided by the Great Escarpment into the "Upper Karoo" (generally above 1200–1500 m) and the "Lower Karoo" on the plains below at 700–800 m. A great many local names, each denoting different subregions of the Great Karoo, exist, some more widely, or more generally, known than others. In the Lower Karoo, going from west to east, they are the "Tankwa Karoo", the "Moordenaarskaroo", the "Koup", the "Vlakte" and the "Camdeboo Plains". The "Hantam", the "Kareeberge", the "Roggeveld" and "Nuweveld" are the better known subregions of the Upper Karoo; though most of it is simply known as the "Upper Karoo", especially in the north.[1]

text: Little Karoo[edit]

text: The Little Karoo’s boundaries are sharply defined by mountain ranges to the west, north and south. The road between Uniondale and Willowmore is considered, by convention, to form the approximate arbitrary eastern extremity of the Little Karoo. Its extent is much smaller than that of the Great Karoo.[1] Locally, it is usually called the Klein Karoo, which is Afrikaans for "Little Karoo".

text: Geography[edit]

text: Great Karoo[edit]

text: The Great Karoo straddles the 30° S parallel on the west of the continent, in a similar position to other semi-desert areas on earth, north and south of the equator. It is furthermore in the rainfall shadow of the Cape Fold Mountains along the western coastline.[1] The western "Lower Karoo" (the Tankwa Karoo and Moordenaarskaroo) contain remnants of the Cape Fold Mountains[12] (e.g. the Witteberg and Anysberg Mountains)[1] which give it a moderate hilly appearance; but further east the Lower Karoo becomes a monotonously flat plain. The "Upper Karoo" has been intruded by dolerite sills (see below),[13] creating multiple flat topped hills, or "Karoo Koppies", which are iconic of the Great Karoo.

text: The vegetation of the Upper and Lower Karoo is similar, so that few people make a distinction between the two.

text: The main highway (the N1) and railway line from Cape Town to the north enter the "Lower Karoo" from the Hex River Valley just before Touws River and follow a course about 50 km south of the Great Escarpment up to Beaufort West. Thereafter they gradually ascend the Great Escarpment along a broad valley to Three Sisters on the Central Plateau and the "Upper Karoo".

text: Turning north from the N1 between Touws River and Beaufort West, at Matjiesfontein the road ascends the Great Escarpment through the "Verlatenkloof Pass" to reach Sutherland, at 1456 m above sea level, which is reputedly the coldest town in South Africa with average minimum temperatures of -6.1 °C during winter.[14] Parts of eastern the Mpumalangan Highveld do at times experience lower temperatures than Sutherland, but not as consistently as Sutherland does.[14] Snowfalls are not infrequent during the southern winter months. The South African Astronomical Observatory has an emplacement of telescopes about 20 km east of the town, on a small plateau 1798 m above sea level, and is home to the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere.[15][16] To the north, still on the Plateau, and 75 km north-west of Carnarvon seven radio dishes form part of the Square Kilometer Array which will, 2500 in total, be scattered in other parts of South Africa and Australia, to survey the southern skies at radio frequencies. Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, one of the main targets of this enterprise, is best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere.[17] The Upper Karoo is indeed an ideal site for an astronomical observatory. This is not only because of the clear skies, absence of artificial lights, and high altitude, but it is also tectonically completely inactive, meaning that there are no nearby fault lines or volcanoes,[12] and therefore experiences no earth tremors or earthquakes even at great distances.[18]

text: Little Karoo[edit]

text: The Little Karoo is separated from the Great Karoo by the Swartberg Mountain range. Geographically, it is a 290 km long valley, only 40–60 km wide, formed by two parallel Cape Fold Mountain ranges, the Swartberg to the north, and the continuous Langeberg-Outeniqua range to the south. The northern strip of the valley, within 10–20 km from the foot of the Swartberg mountains is most un-karoo-like, in that it is a well watered area both from the rain, and the many streams that cascade down the mountain, or through narrow defiles in the Swartberg from the Great Karoo. The main towns of the region are situated along this northern strip of the Little Karoo: Montagu, Barrydale, Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn and De Rust, as well as such well-known mission stations such as Zoar, Amalienstein, and Dysselsdorp.

text: The southern 30–50 km wide strip, north of the Langeberg range is as arid as the western Lower Karoo, except in the east, where the Langeberg range (arbitrarily) starts to be called the Outeniqua Mountains.

text: The Little Karoo can only be accessed by road through the narrow defiles cut through the surrounding Cape Fold Mountains by ancient, but still flowing rivers. A few roads traverse the mountains over passes, the most famous and impressive of which is the Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo and Prince Albert on the other side of the Swartberg mountains in the Great Karoo. There is also the main road between Oudtshoorn and George, on the coastal plain, that crosses the mountains to the south via the Outeniqua Pass. The only exit from the Little Karoo that does not involve crossing a mountain range is through the 150 km long, narrow Langkloof valley between Uniondale and Humansdorp, near Plettenberg Bay.

text: Geology of the Karoo[edit]

text: The Great Karoo[edit]

text: In geological terms, the Karoo Supergroup refers to an extensive and geologically recent (180–310 million year old) sequence of sedimentary and igneous rocks,[13] which is flanked to the south by the Cape Fold Mountains, and to the north by the more ancient Ventersdorp Lavas, the Transvaal Supergroup and Waterberg Supergroup.[12] It covers two-thirds of South Africa and extends in places to 8000 m below the land surface, constituting an immense volume of rocks which was formed, geologically speaking, in a short period of time.[19][20] Although almost the whole of the Great Karoo is situated on Karoo Supergroup rocks, the geological Karoo rocks extend over a very much larger area, both within South Africa and Lesotho, but also beyond its borders and onto other continents that formed part of Gondwana.[4][12][13]

text: Geological history of the Karoo Supergroup[edit]

text: The Karoo Supergroup was formed in vast inland basin starting 320 million years ago, at a time when the part of Gondwana which would eventually become Africa lay over the South Pole.[10][21] Icebergs that had calved off the glaciers and ice sheets to the north deposited a kilometer thick layer of mud containing dropstones of varying origins and sizes into this basin. This became the Dwyka Group consisting primarily of tillite, the lowermost layer of the Karoo Supergroup.[13] As Gondwana drifted northwards the basin turned into an inland sea with extensive swampy deltas along its northern shores. The peat in these swamps eventually turned into large deposits of coal which are mined in KwaZulu-Natal and on the Highveld. This 3 km thick layer is known as the Ecca Group, which is overlain by the 5.6 km thick Beaufort Group, laid down on a vast plain with Mississippi-like rivers depositing mud from an immense range of mountains to the South.[13] Ancient reptiles and amphibians prospered in the wet forests, and their remains have made the Karoo famous amongst palaeontologists. The first of these Karoo fossils was discovered in 1838 by Scots-born Andrew Geddes Bain at a road cutting near Fort Beaufort. He sent his specimens to the British Museum, where fellow Scotsman Robert Broom recognised the Karoo fossils' mammal-like characteristics in 1897.[22]

text: After the Beaufort period, Southern Africa (still part of Gondwana) became an arid sand desert with only ephemeral rivers and pans. These sands consolidated to form the Stormberg Group, the remnants of which are found only in the immediate vicinity of Lesotho. Several dinosaur nests, containing eggs, some with dinosaur fetal skeletons in them, have been found in these rocks, near what had once been a swampy pan.[23][24][25]

text: Finally about 180 million years ago, volcanic activity took place on a titanic scale, which brought an end to a flourishing reptile evolution.[22] These genera represent some of the extinct, mainly pre-dinosaur, animals of the Karoo:

text:
Mesosaurus, aquatic Dwyka carnivore
Bradysaurus, Beaufort Group herbivore
Diictodon, Permian mammal-like reptile
Rubidgea, Permian predator
Lystrosaurus, Triassic mammal-like herbivore
Thrinaxodon, Triassic mammal-like carnivore
Euparkeria, early dinosaur
Massospondylus, late Triassic to early Jurassic herbivorous, bipedal dinosaur
Megazostrodon, early mammal[22]

text: The lava outpourings that ended the Karoo deposition of rocks, not only covered the African surface, and other parts of Gondwana with a 1.6 km thick layer basaltic lava,[13] but it also forced its way, under high pressure, between the horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks belonging to the Ecca and Beaufort groups, to solidify into dolerite sills. The long vertical fissures through which the lava welled up solidified into dikes which resemble the Great Wall of China from the air.[4] From about 150 million years ago the South African surface has been subjected to an almost uninterrupted period of erosion, particularly during the past 20 million years,[13] shaving off many kilometers of sediments. This exposed the dolerite sills, which were more resistant to erosion than the Karoo sediments, forming one of the most characteristic features of the Karoo landscape, namely the flat topped hills, called "Karoo Koppies".

text: Geology of the Little Karoo[edit]

text: The geology of the region bears no resemblance to that of the Great Karoo (see the diagram on the left, of a NS geological cross section through the Little and Great Karoos).[10] The valley is an integral part of the Cape Fold Mountain Belt, with the two ranges on either side composed of extremely hard, erosion resistant, quartzitic sandstone belonging to the 450-510 million year old Table Mountain Group (i.e. the oldest layer of the Cape Supergroup). The valley floor is covered, in the main, by the next (younger) layer of the Supergroup, namely the much softer Bokkeveld shales. The dolerite of the Great Karoo did not penetrate these rocks, and so Karoo Koppies are not seen in the Little Karoo.[12]

text: The Little Karoo contains two other geological features that give the landscape a special character. During the erosion of the African interior following the bulging of the continent during the massive lava outpourings that ended the Karoo sedimentation 180 million years ago, some of the eroded material was trapped in the valleys of the Cape Fold Mountains, especially during the Cretaceous period, about 145 ± 4 to 66 million years (Ma) ago. These "Enon Conglomerates", as they are known, were deposited by high energy, fast flowing rivers,[13] and are found between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn, where they form the strikingly red "Redstone Hills".[1][10][12][14][26]

text: The second special geological feature that marks the Little Karoo, is the 300 km long fault line along the southern edge of the Swartberg Mountains. The Swartberg Mountains were uplifted along this fault, to such an extent that in the Oudtshoorn region the rocks that form the base of the Cape Supergroup are exposed. These are locally known as the "Cango Group", but are probably continuous with the "Malmesbury Group" that forms the base of Table Mountain on the Cape Peninsula, and similar outcrops in the Western Cape.[13] In the Little Karoo the outcrop is composed of limestone, into which an underground stream has carved the impressively extensive Cango Caves.[4][10][12][14]

text: Karoo flora[edit]

text: The Great Karoo and Little Karoo lie almost entirely within two of South Africa’s eight botanical biomes,[27] namely the "Succulent Karoo biome" and the "Nama Karoo biome", both of which, like the "Karoo Geological System", are more extensive than the geographical or historical Karoo described in South African atlases and Guide Books (compare the map on the right with the map at the beginning of the article).[4][14][28]

text: Succulent Karoo biome[edit]

text: The Succulent Karoo biome runs along the West Coast, from approximately Lamberts Bay northwards to over 200 km into southern Namibia.[29][30] It starts in the south just north of the "Sandveld" geographical region, approximately 250 km north of Cape Town, and continues through "Namaqualand", the "Richtersveld", immediately south of the Orange River, and on into the "Namaqualand" or "Namaland" region of southern Namibia. None of these regions are ever referred to, either geographically or locally, as "Karoo".[10] However, it has a major extension inland into the "Tankwa Karoo" and "Moordenaarskaroo" regions of the Lower Karoo, and adjoining Upper Karoo region of the geographic Great Karoo. It also occurs to the south, in part of the Breede River Valley, as the Robertson Karoo. From here it continues eastwards into the western half of the "Little Karoo" (see map on the right).[1][3][4][10][14][28]

text: The Succulent Karoo biome is dominated by dwarf, leafy succulent shrubs, and annuals, predominantly Asteraceae, popularly known as "Namaqualand Daisies", which put on spectacular flower displays covering vast stretches of the landscape in the southern spring-time (August–September) after good rains in the winter. Grasses are uncommon, making most the biome unsuitable for grazing. The low rainfall, in fact, discourages most forms of agriculture. An exception is the thriving ostrich farming industry in the Little Karoo, which is heavily dependent on supplementary feeding with lucerne.[4][14] The difference between the Succulent Karoo biome and the Nama Karoo biome is that the former receives the little rain that falls as cyclonic rainfall in winter, which has less erosive power than the infrequent but violent summer thunder storms of the Nama Karoo.[29] Frost is also less common in the Succulent Karoo biome than in the Nama Karoo biome.[29] The number of mainly succulent plant species is very high for an arid area of this size anywhere in the world.[29]

text: Nama Karoo biome[edit]

text: The Nama Karoo biome is located entirely on the central Plateau mostly at altitudes between 1000 m and 1500 m.[31][32] It incorporates nearly the whole of the historical and geographical Great Karoo, but also includes a portion of southern Namibia's "Namaqualand", and South Africa's "Bushmanland" (both local geographical names, not names of biomes).[1][10] It is the second largest biome in South Africa,[31][32] and forms the botanical transition between the "Fynbos biome"[33] to the south and the "Savannah biome"[34] to the north. It is defined primarily by the dominance of dwarf (less than 1 m high) shrubs with a co-dominance of grasses especially towards the north-east and east where it grades into the "Grassland biome" of the Highveld and the Eastern Midlands.[35] The shrubs and grasses are deciduous, mainly in response to the irregular rainfall.[31][32] Much of the Nama Karoo biome is used for sheep and goat farming, providing mutton, wool and pelts for local and international markets, especially since livestock can frequently be provided with a regular supply of water from boreholes. Overgrazing exacerbates the erosion caused by the violent thunderstorms that occur, infrequently, in the summer. It also promotes the replacement of the grasses by shrubs, especially the less edible varieties such as the threethorn (Rhigozum trichotomum), bitterbos (Chrysocoma ciliate) and sweet thorn (Acacia karroo).[31][32] However, there are few rare or Red Data Book plant species in the Nama Karoo biome.[31][32]

text: Karoo fauna[edit]

text: Great Karoo[edit]

text: The Great Karoo used to support a large variety of antelope (particularly the springbok), the quagga and other large game, especially on the grassy flats in the east. Francois Le Vaillant, the famous French explorer, naturalist and ornithologist, who traveled through the Great Karoo in the 1780s, killed a hippopotamus in the Great Fish River in the Karoo (and ate its foot for breakfast). He also recorded that he saw the spoor of a rhinoceros near Cranemere, in the Camdeboo Plains (eastern Lower Karoo). Elephant tusks have been found by farmers in the Camdeboo district, but there are no records of any having been seen alive in that region.[6] The quagga roamed the Karoo in great numbers together with wildebeest and ostriches, who always seemed to accompany them.[6] These quagga seemed gentle and easy to domesticate. (A pair of quagga was used to draw a horse-carriage through London, more for curiosity than for any superiority the quagga might have had over a horse.) They were consequently also easy prey for hunters, who hunted them for sport rather than their meat.[6] By the middle of the 1800s they were almost extinct, and in 1883 the last one died in an Amsterdam Zoo.

text: Probably the strangest and most puzzling zoological phenomenon in the Great Karoo was the periodic, unpredictable appearance of massive springbok migrations.[6][8] These migrations always came from the north, and could either go west towards Namaqualand and the sea, south-west through towns such as Beaufort West, or south through the Camdeboo district. These vast herds moved steadily and inexorably across the plains, trampling all before them, including their own kind. Le Vaillant gave the first eye-witness account of such a migration in 1782.[6] He rode through the herd filling the Plains of Camdeboo, seeing neither the beginning nor end of the moving mass.

text: In 1849 a massive herd of springbok, amongst whom were intermingled wildebeest, blesbok, quagga, and eland, moved through Beaufort West. Early one morning the town was awakened to a sound like that of a strong wind, and suddenly the town was filled with animals. They devoured every sprig of foliage in the town and surrounding countryside. It took three days before the last of the continuously moving herd left the town to disappear towards the west. The Karoo looked as if a fire had swept through it. During these migrations the plains and hillsides on every side were thickly covered by one vast mass of springbok, packed like sheep in a fold. As far as the eye could see, the landscape was alive with them.[6]

text: During these migrations the springbok never ran or trotted. On the whole, they were silent, except for the shudder of their stamping hoofs. Nothing could divert them, and hunters could ride amongst them, shooting them at random, without apparently causing alarm. People could move amongst them and kill them with sticks, or cripple them by seizing a leg and breaking it. It was not only people who followed these herds for the easy meat they provided, but also lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, hyenas, and jackals.[6]

text: No one knew how, why or where these migrations started, nor where they ended. Nor did anyone know if these animals every returned to where they had started from. The migrations were always unidirectional, from north of the Great Karoo.[6]

text: Great locust swarms also frequently invaded or arose in the Great Karoo, and still occur from time to time today.[6]

text: The introduction of the windpump to tap the Great Karoo’s underground water resources in the late 1800s made permanent human habitation and sheep farming possible over large parts of the Great Karoo for the first time (see below).[4][14] As a result, the teeming number of large antelope in the Karoo has dwindled into insignificance, and, with them, the large carnivores have all but disappeared. Today the caracal (7–19 kg),[36] black-backed jackal (6–10 kg),[36] Verreaux's eagle (3.0–5.8 kg) and the martial eagle (3.0–6.2 kg)[37][38] are arguably the largest predators likely to be seen in the Great Karoo today. Leopards (20–90 kg) do occur, especially in the mountains, but are very secretive, and therefore rarely seen.[36] Many of the animals that formerly inhabited the Karoo in large numbers, including lions, have been re-introduced to the area in nature reserves and game farms.

text: Little Karoo[edit]

text: As in the Great Karoo, antelope and other big game inhabited the Little Karoo in the past. However, the dominant zebra was not the quagga, but the Cape mountain zebra, (Equus zebra zebra) which is adapted for life on rugged, mountainous, terrain. Their hooves are harder and faster-growing than those of the Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga burchellii), which live on the plains.[39] The two species are therefore rarely seen in the same habitat. The quagga is closely related to the Burchell's zebra, and appears also to have been confined to the plains.

text: The mountain zebra occurred in the mountain regions of the Cape Fold Belt, and along the southern portion of the Great Escarpment. Thus, they were endemic to, amongst others, the western Lower Karoo, and the Little Karoo. However, they were hunted to near extinction, leaving fewer than 100 individuals by the 1930s. Conservation efforts since then brought their numbers up to 1200 by 1998, mainly by concentrating these zebra in nature reserves and protected areas, the most well known of these being the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Great Karoo. Cape Mountain Zebras are still found in protected areas managed by Cape Nature, including the Kamanassie and Gamkaberg Nature Reserves.

text: The ostrich is found throughout Africa, but the most handsome specimens came from the Little Karoo, where the dry weather, but plentiful water in the streams formed an ideal habitat for these large flightless birds. Here they grow to over 2 m in height, and weight over 100 kg. The male’s feathers have been prized by many cultures in Africa, Europe and Asia over thousands of years.[4][14] In the 1860s, a farmer in the Graaff-Reinet district was apparently the first person to demonstrate that the ostrich could successfully be domesticated, bred in captivity, and the eggs hatched in incubators, while still producing the magnificent feathers.[14] This idea was quickly adopted by farmers in the Little Karoo, where they started growing lucerne as the birds’ favorite food. During 1880, no less than 74,000 kg of feathers were exported, and in 1904 it passed the 210,000 kg mark.[14]

text: The First World War brought about a slump in the ostrich feather market, but the industry recovered in later years, when it was not only the feathers that were sought after, but also ostrich leather, and its meat, which is very tasty, and a major export item. Today there are several farms that can be visited by tourists, near Oudtshoorn, the center of the ostrich industry.[4][14]

text: Modern history[edit]

text: Great Karoo[edit]

text: The first European settlers landed in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, and between 1659 and 1664 made several unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the Great Karoo from the south west.[3] The Europeans who first entered the Great Karoo did so from the south east (traveling north from Algoa Bay), which is slightly less arid than the western Karoo.[6][14] These were the trekboers of the mid-1700s, who led a nomadic existence, enduring great hardships in the relentless aridity, the intense heat (such that even their dogs could not walk on the scorching ground and had to be lifted into the overcrowded wagons) and the bitter cold in winter, especially at night.[6] Before that time, the only inhabitants were the Khoisan who lived in small family groups who, it is believed, remained largely in their own "territories", killing their own game, and gathering bulbs and roots and drinking from a spring or other water source within their territory.[6][14] Sometimes these territories were very large and the family group moved from one part to the other. Their only domestic animals were dogs.[6] The Bantu people to the east of the Great Karoo did not occupy this arid region due to the scarce rainfall which prevented the farming of cattle.

text: In 1854 Daniel Halladay invented the multi-bladed wind pump in the U.S.A. It was perfected in 1883, and soon South Africa (and elsewhere) produced them in large numbers. These wind pumps transformed the Great Karoo, making permanent settlement and stock farming (predominantly sheep)[4] possible over large parts of the Karoo for the first time.[14] Like the Karoo Koppie the multi-bladed wind pump became an iconic feature of the Great Karoo. Sheep farming and the fencing off of the land have meant that antelope numbers have dwindled significantly, and, with them, the big carnivores. Leopards still occur in the mountains, but lions now only occur in nature reserves, where they have been recently re-introduced into the Great Karoo.

text: In 1872 construction was started to connect the Cape Colony’s coastal railway system with the diamond fields in Kimberley,[40][41] The new line started in Worcester and entered the Lower Karoo through the Hex River valley, where it followed a course almost midway between the Swartberg Mountains to the south and the Great Escarpment to the north. Along the way it passed through the quaint Victorian village of Matjiesfontein, with the historic Lord Miner Hotel, which is still operational today. The railway reached this point in 1878, before proceeding to Beaufort West at the foot of the Great Escarpment. From there it reached the top of the African Plateau near Three Sisters along a valley with such a low gradient that passengers were (and still are) hardly aware that they were ascending the Great Escarpment. From there it continued through the Upper Karoo, to De Aar, and crossing the Orange River at Hopetown where South Africa’s first diamond, the Eureka Diamond, was found. The Orange River, at this point, forms the local unofficial boundary between the Great Karoo and the Highveld.[4]

text: The line reached Kimberley in 1885, and has since been extended via Botswana (then Bechuanaland) to reach Zimbabwe and Zambia (when they were still known as South and North Rhodesia), and branch lines have been constructed to Namibia and Port Elizabeth through a hub at De Aar, in the Great Karoo. Further branch lines were later built from points further north to Bloemfontein, Durban, and, of course, to Johannesburg.

text: During the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902, three Republican commando units, reinforced by the sympathizers ("rebels") from the Cape Colony, conducted widespread operations throughout the Karoo. Countless skirmishes took place in the region, with the Calvinia magisterial district, in particular, contributing a significant number of fighters to the Republican cause. Fought both conventionally and as a guerrilla struggle over the Karoo's vast expanses, it was a bloody war of attrition wherein both sides used newly developed technologies to their advantage. Numerous abandoned blockhouses can still be seen at strategic locations, especially along the railway line, throughout the Great Karoo. A prime example still "guards" a bridge over the Buffels River, 12 km (7.5 mi) to the east of the town of Laingsburg, in the Lower Karoo, between Matjiesfontein and Beaufort West.

text: Recently, Nature Reserves and game farms have been established in many parts of the Great Karoo, turning what was once regarded as a forbiddingly desolate and unattractive geographical barrier into a tourist destination.

text: Little Karoo[edit]

text: This area was explored by European settlers in the late 17th century, who encountered the Khoisan people as the original inhabitants of this area. The latter called the Swartberg mountains "kango" meaning "a place rich in water".[4] The Cango Caves in the Swartberg mountains are named after this Khoisan word.

text: The Little Karoo, and especially Oudtshoorn, became synonymous with the ostrich feather industry in the 1880s (see above).[4][14][26] The resulting "Feather millionaires" built Victorian "Feather Palaces" all over town, using the red rocks belonging to the Enon Conglomerate, and related "Kirkwood Formation", to build them.[10] These grand red palaces and other buildings in Oudtshoorn can still be admired today.

text: A railway line was built to connect Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn, to Willowmore and from there, via Klipplaat, to Port Elizabeth, from where the ostrich feathers from the Little Karoo’s ostrich farms could be exported to Europe. That line is no longer in use today.

text: The Swartberg pass was built, with convict labor, between 1881 and 1888 by Thomas Bain, son of the famous Andrew Geddes Bain who built Bain's Kloof Pass and many others in the Western Cape. The main motivation for building the pass was to provide an all-weather road connection between the southern Great Karoo, and Oudtshoorn (and from there to the sea).[4][14] The two alternative roads, through the Meiringspoort and the Seweweekspoort defiles were subject to periodic flooding, after heavy thunder storms in the Great Karoo. The Swartberg pass is not tarred and can be treacherously slippery after rain. It also becomes impassable after heavy snowfalls on the mountain, a not infrequent occurrence in winter.

text: Karoo in literature[edit]

text: Poet Thomas Hardy wrote in his poem Drummer Hodge:[42]

text:
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew -
Fresh from his Wessex home -
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.

text: In Bridge-Guard in the Karroo, Rudyard Kipling evoked the loneliness experienced by blockhouse soldiers at Ketting station on the Dwyka River while guarding the Karoo railway track, a lifeline during the South African War (excerpts):[43]

text:
Sudden the desert changes,
The raw glare softens and clings,
Till the aching Oudtshoorn ranges
Stand up like the thrones of Kings –

We hear the Hottentot herders
As the sheep click past to the fold –
And the click of the restless girders
As the steel contracts in the cold –

And the solemn firmament marches,
And the hosts of heaven rise
Framed through the iron arches –
Banded and barred by the ties, ...

text:
The Nuweveld Mountains near Beaufort West

The Lower Karoo

The Valley of Desolation near Graaff-Reinet

Typical Karoo koppies near Cradock


document_title: Professional Tax

question_text: professional tax payable on net salary or gross salary

text: Professional Tax

text: Article 276 in Constitution of India, 1949[edit]

text:
Notwithstanding until provisions to the contrary is made by Parliament by law, and any law so made by Parliament may be made either generally or in relation to any specified States, municipalities, boards or authorities
The power of the Legislature of a State to make laws as aforesaid with respect to taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments shall not be construed as limiting in any way the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to taxes on income accruing from or arising out of professions, trades, callings and employments

text: Amount[edit]

text: The professional tax is a slab-amount based on the gross income of the professional and salaried and as well as the other states as may be decided employee's. It is deducted from salary of the employee every month. In case of a company, directors of a company, partnership's, individual partners, self-employed professional or owner's of any business undertaken in the state, it is to be submitted depending upon their gross turnover in the preceding year. In some cases, the payment of tax is fixed and is to be paid irrespective of turnover. For example in state of West Bengal, owner of a factory has to pay professional tax only if the preceding year turnover is greater than 5 lac rupees and in case of companies there is a mandatory payment of rupees 2,500 /- each year as professional tax irrespective of turnover.[3] For west bengal professional tax slabs and rates on employee or otherwise click here.

text: Slab for professional tax varies across different states in India. Click here for the different slab rates.

text: Responsibility of Deduction[edit]

text: The owner of a business is responsible to deduct professional tax from the salaries of his employees and pay the amount so collected to the appropriate government department. He/she has to furnish a return to the tax department in the prescribed form within the specified time. limit

text: Registration[edit]

text: Apply for the Registration Certificate to your state tax department within 30 days of employing staff for your business. If you have more than one place of work, apply separately to each authority as regards the place of work coming under the jurisdiction of that authority.

text: Deposit of Amount Deducted[edit]

text:
Employers covered under the jurisdiction of “State Government” as Designated authority shall pay in the treasury by Challan through the bank. Other employers shall pay at the place of payment declared by the Designated Authorities concerned.
If an employer has employed more than 20 employees, he is required to make payment within 15 days from the end of the month. However, if an employer has less than 20 employees, he is required to pay quarterly(i.e. by the 15th of next month from the end of the quarter).

text: Source - Professional Tax in India all Details

text: Penalties for Non-Compliance on Professional Tax Payment[edit]

text: Delays in obtaining Registration Certificate, a penalty of Rs. 5/- per day. In case of non/late payment of profession tax, penalty will be 10% of the amount of tax. In case of late filing of returns, a penalty of Rs. 1000 per return will be imposed if you filed after due date in 1 month. After 1 month, a penalty of Rs. 2000 will be imposed.[4]


document_title: This Is Us (TV series)

question_text: who plays the dad in this is us

question_tokens: who plays the dad in this is us

text: This Is Us (TV series)

text: Series overview[edit]

text: The series follows siblings Kate, Kevin and Randall as their lives intertwine. Kate and Kevin were originally part of a triplet pregnancy, conceived in the bathroom of Froggy's, a bar, during Super Bowl XIV.[4] Their due date was October 12, 1980, but they were born six weeks early on August 31; their biological brother was stillborn.[5] Their parents, Jack and Rebecca, having expected to bring home three babies, decide to adopt another newborn: Randall, a black child born the same day and brought to the same hospital after his biological father abandoned him at a fire station.[6]

text: Episodes weave through the stories of the past and present of the characters, with most scenes taking place in 1980, 1989–1995, and the present day (2016–2017). Flashback scenes take place in Pittsburgh, while current scenes are typically split between Los Angeles, New Jersey, and New York City.

text:
Season
Episodes
Originally aired
Nielsen ratings

First aired
Last aired
Rank
Average viewership
(in millions)

1
18
September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20)
March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)
6
14.70[7]

2
18[3]
September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)
TBA
TBA
TBA

tag: table

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson: Rebecca's husband, and Kate, Kevin, & Randall's father.
Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson (née Malone): Jack's wife, and Kate, Kevin, & Randall's mother.
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson: Jack & Rebecca's son, and Kate & Kevin's brother. Also played by Niles Fitch (age 15) and Lonnie Chavis (ages 8–10).
Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson: Jack & Rebecca's daughter, and Kevin & Randall's sister. Also played by Hannah Zeile (age 15) and Mackenzie Hancsicsak (ages 8–10).
Justin Hartley as Kevin Pearson: Jack & Rebecca's son, and Kate & Randall's brother. Also played by Logan Shroyer (age 15) and Parker Bates (ages 8–10).
Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth Pearson: Randall's wife, and mother of Tess and Annie.
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon: Kate's fiancé.
Ron Cephas Jones as William H. Hill (aka Shakespeare): Randall's biological father. Also played by Jermel Nakia as a youth.
Jon Huertas as Miguel: Jack's best friend and Rebecca's second husband. (recurring season 1; main season 2–present)[8]
Alexandra Breckenridge as Sophie: Kate's childhood best friend as well as Kevin's childhood love and ex-wife. Also played by Amanda Leighton (age 15) and Sophia Coto (age 10). (recurring season 1; main season 2–present)[8]
Eris Baker as Tess Pearson: Randall and Beth's older daughter. (recurring season 1; main season 2–present)
Faithe Herman as Annie Pearson: Randall and Beth's younger daughter. (recurring season 1; main season 2–present)

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Gerald McRaney as Dr. Nathan Katowski (aka Dr. K): An elderly widower, who delivers Kate and Kevin.
Janet Montgomery as Olivia Maine: Kevin's former stage partner and ex-girlfriend.
Milana Vayntrub as Sloane Sandburg: Kevin's stage partner and ex-girlfriend.
Ryan Michelle Bathe as Yvette: A family friend of the Pearsons.
Denis O'Hare as Jesse: William's friend and former romantic partner.
Adam Bartley as Duke: The stable worker at the weight-loss camp Kate attends.
Jill Johnson as Laurie: A member of Toby and Kate's weight-loss support group.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (2016–17)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
1
"Pilot"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Dan Fogelman
September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20)
1AZC01
10.07[9]

2
2
"The Big Three"
Ken Olin
Dan Fogelman
September 27, 2016 (2016-09-27)
1AZC02
8.75[10]

3
3
"Kyle"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Dan Fogelman
October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11)
1AZC03
9.87[11]

4
4
"The Pool"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Dan Fogelman & Donald Todd
October 18, 2016 (2016-10-18)
1AZC04
9.71[12]

5
5
"The Game Plan"
George Tillman
Joe Lawson
October 25, 2016 (2016-10-25)
1AZC05
8.68[13]

6
6
"Career Days"
Craig Zisk
Bekah Brunstetter
November 1, 2016 (2016-11-01)
1AZC06
8.48[14]

7
7
"The Best Washing Machine in the World"
Silas Howard
K.J. Steinberg
November 15, 2016 (2016-11-15)
1AZC07
9.50[15]

8
8
"Pilgrim Rick"
Sarah Pia Anderson
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
November 22, 2016 (2016-11-22)
1AZC08
9.00[16]

9
9
"The Trip"
Uta Briesewitz
Vera Herbert
November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29)
1AZC09
10.53[17]

10
10
"Last Christmas"
Helen Hunt
Donald Todd
December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06)
1AZC10
10.95[18]

11
11
"The Right Thing to Do"
Timothy Busfield
Aurin Squire
January 10, 2017 (2017-01-10)
1AZC11
10.48[19]

12
12
"The Big Day"
Ken Olin
Dan Fogelman & Laura Kenar
January 17, 2017 (2017-01-17)
1AZC12
9.59[20]

13
13
"Three Sentences"
Chris Koch
Joe Lawson & Bekah Brunstetter
January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24)
1AZC13
9.63[21]

14
14
"I Call Marriage"
George Tillman Jr.
Kay Oyegun
February 7, 2017 (2017-02-07)
1AZC14
9.57[22]

15
15
"Jack Pearson's Son"
Ken Olin
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
February 14, 2017 (2017-02-14)
1AZC15
9.03[23]

16
16
"Memphis"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Dan Fogelman
February 21, 2017 (2017-02-21)
1AZC16
9.35[24]

17
17
"What Now?"
Wendey Stanzler
K.J. Steinberg & Vera Herbert
March 7, 2017 (2017-03-07)
1AZC17
11.15[25]

18
18
"Moonshadow"
Ken Olin
Dan Fogelman & Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)
1AZC18
12.84[26]

text: Season 2 (2017)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)

19
1
"A Father's Advice"
Ken Olin
Dan Fogelman
September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)
2AZC01
12.94[27]

20
2
"A Manny-Splendored Thing"
John Fortenberry
Dan Fogelman & Bekah Brunstetter
October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03)
2AZC02
11.06[28]

21
3
"Déjà Vu"
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
October 10, 2017 (2017-10-10)
2AZC03
11.02[29]

22
4
"Still There"[30]
TBA
TBA
October 17, 2017 (2017-10-17)
2AZC04
TBD

23
5
"Brothers"[31]
TBA
TBA
October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)
2AZC05
TBD

24
6
"Tess"[32]
Regina King[33]
TBA
October 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
2AZC06
TBD

text: Release[edit]

text: Home media[edit]

text: In May 2017, Hulu acquired the SVOD rights to new and past episodes of the series to air exclusively on Hulu, in addition to NBC.com and the NBC app.[34]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 89% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.7/10 based on 56 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Featuring full-tilt heartstring-tugging family drama, This Is Us will provide a suitable surrogate for those who have felt a void in their lives since Parenthood went off the air."[35] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[36] Season 2 received a 92% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.[37]

text: Entertainment Weekly gave the first few episodes of This Is Us a rating of B, calling it "a refreshing respite from the relational violence and pessimism that marks the other buzz soaps that have bubbled forth from a culture of divisiveness". Moreover, they praised all the actors, specifically Sterling K. Brown, for being able to navigate "his scenes with such intelligence, authenticity, and charisma".[38]

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
Season
Timeslot (ET)
Episodes
First aired
Last aired
TV season
Rank
Avg. viewers
(millions)
18–49 rating
(average)

Date
Viewers
(millions)
Date
Viewers
(millions)

1
Tuesday 10:00 pm (1–2, 11)
Tuesday 9:00 pm (3–10, 12–18)
18
September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20)
10.07[9]
March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)
12.84[26]
2016–17
6
14.70
4.6/16[7]

2
Tuesday 9:00 pm
18[3]
September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)
12.94[27]
TBA
TBD
2017–18
TBD
TBD
TBD

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

2016
African-American Critics Association Awards
Top Ten TV Show
This Is Us
Won

American Film Institute Awards
TV Program of the Year
This Is Us
Won
[39]

Critics' Choice Television Awards
Best Drama Series
This Is Us
Nominated
[40]

Most Exciting New Series
This Is Us
Won
[40]

2017
ACE Eddie Awards
Best Edited One Hour Series for Commercial Television
David L. Bertman (for "Pilot")
Won
[41]

Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Chrissy Metz
Nominated
[42]

Mandy Moore
Nominated

Best Television Series – Drama
This Is Us
Nominated

MTV Movie & TV Awards
Best Actor in a Show
Mandy Moore
Nominated
[43]

Show of the Year
This Is Us
Nominated

Tearjerker
Milo Ventimiglia and Lonnie Chavis (Jack and Randall at Karate)
Won

NAACP Image Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown
Won
[44]

Outstanding Drama Series
This Is Us
Nominated

Outstanding Performance by a Youth
Lonnie Chavis
Nominated

Peabody Awards
Entertainment and Children's programs
This Is Us
Nominated
[45]

People's Choice Awards
Favorite Actor in a New TV Series
Milo Ventimiglia
Nominated
[46]

Favorite Actress in a New TV Series
Mandy Moore
Nominated

Favorite New TV Drama
This Is Us
Won

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown
Nominated
[47]

Teen Choice Awards
Choice TV: Breakout Star
Chrissy Metz
Nominated

Choice TV Actor: Drama
Sterling K. Brown
Nominated

Milo Ventimiglia
Nominated

Choice TV Show: Drama
This Is Us
Nominated

Television Critics Association Awards
Individual Achievement in Drama
Sterling K. Brown
Nominated
[48]

Outstanding Achievement in Drama
This Is Us
Nominated

Outstanding New Program
This Is Us
Won

Program of the Year
This Is Us
Nominated

Writers Guild of America Awards
Episodic Drama
Vera Herbert (for "The Trip")
Won
[49]
[50]

New Series
This Is Us
Nominated

Primetime Emmy Awards
Outstanding Drama Series
This Is Us
Nominated
[51]

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Milo Ventimiglia
Nominated

Sterling K. Brown
Won

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Ron Cephas Jones
Nominated

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Chrissy Metz
Nominated

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards[a]
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Brian Tyree Henry
Nominated

Gerald McRaney
Won

Denis O'Hare
Nominated

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield
Nominated

Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)
Zoe Hay, Heather Plott, Elizabeth Hoel-Chang, Judith Lynn Staats, John Damiani
Nominated

Seoul International Drama Awards
Grand Prize
This Is Us
Won
[53]

Best Director
Dan Fogelman
Nominated

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ In 2017, Hala Bahmet, Marina Ray and Elinor Bardach were nominated for Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series, or Movie. The nomination was rescinded after it was determined that the submitted episode "Moonshadow" was primarily set in the 1970s, violating the TV Academy's rule that "more than 50 percent" of the episode must be contemporary (within 25 years of the air date).[52]

tag: ol


document_title: Kidnapped by Danger

question_text: who plays jack donaghy in the avery jessup movie

text: Kidnapped by Danger

text: Plot[edit]

text: Avery's mother Diana (Mary Steenburgen) arrives to make sure that the TV movie about her daughter shows her in a good light. Liz (Tina Fey) promises to help Jack (Alec Baldwin) overcome his chemistry with Diana and keep him out of an inappropriate relationship. Liz eventually fixes Diana up with the actor playing Jack (William Baldwin, Alec Baldwin's real life brother) to keep her away from Jack. At the table reading of Liz's script, Jack is appalled that Liz has included some seedy details about Jack and Avery's courtship. He fires Liz from the project and rewrites the script himself. Jack eventually realizes that Liz is right that he had been idealizing his relationship with Avery. Liz consoles him and helps him rewrite the script to be a total fabrication.

text: Kenneth, having quit the job he had in "Standards and Practices", tries to find a new job at NBC. He eventually finds a position as a janitor, in many ways lower than where he started as a page. He admits to Jack that he makes it through each day by lying to himself.

text: Jenna's new single to promote the movie is immediately parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Furious, she and Tracy try to write a new song that cannot be parodied. They eventually come up with a song as silly as a typical Weird Al offering and she debuts it on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Weird Al counters by creating an entirely serious song set to the same tune.

text: Reception[edit]

text: The show attracted 3.42 million viewers in its time slot.[1]

text: Andy Greenwald of Grantland thought the episode was "no-less brilliant" than the episode that preceded it, but that it "suffered slightly" for being "richness on top of richness." He says "it’s only in retrospect, looking over my notes, that I realize the material in the second half-hour might have actually been stronger.".[2]

text: David Sims of The Onion A.V. Club liked that "the successful-joke-per-minute ratio of 30 Rock is still pretty high, and I got quite a few laughs out of a lot of the random gags," but feels that the series suffers from "struggling to make the onscreen insanity at all relatable." He gave this episode and the one before it a combined grade of B-.[3]


document_title: Zac Efron

question_text: who does zac effron play in the lorax

question_tokens: who does zac effron play in the lorax

text: Zac Efron

text: Early life

text: Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California,[3] and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. His father, David Efron, is an electrical engineer at a power station, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a secretary who worked at the same power plant.[4][5] Efron has a brother, Dylan,[2] and had, as he has described, a "normal childhood" in a middle-class family.[6] His surname, "Efron" (אפרון), is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname, taken from a Biblical place name.[7][8] Zac has described himself as Jewish;[9] though he was raised in an agnostic household and did not practice religion as a child.[10]

text: Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, as well as that he was a class clown.[11] His father encouraged him to begin acting when Zac was eleven years old.[4] Efron subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school,[12] worked in the theater The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville,[6] and began taking singing lessons.[4] He performed in shows such as Gypsy; Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. He was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).[13][14] Efron was later signed to the Creative Artists Agency.[15]

text: Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006[16] and was then accepted into the University of Southern California but did not enroll. He also attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, where he performed during the years of 2000 and 2001.[17]

text: Career

text: 2002–2006: Early career

text: Efron began acting in the early 2000s with guest roles on several television series including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. In 2004, he began appearing as a recurring character in the first season of the WB series Summerland. For the show's second season, which aired in 2005, he was promoted to the main cast. He also appeared in some films, including the Lifetime television film Miracle Run (2004), for which he earned a Young Artist Award nomination for his performance as one of two autistic twins.

text: 2006–2009: High School Musical and breakthrough

text: Efron's career reached a turning point with the teen musical television film High School Musical (2006), which premiered on the Disney Channel in January 2006. The film, which has been described as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, saw Efron playing the male lead Troy Bolton, a high school basketball player who feels conflicted when he finds himself interested in participating in the school musical with Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), a girl from the scholastic decathlon team. The film, which also starred Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman in pivotal roles, became a major success and helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences. The film's soundtrack was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA,[18] making it one of the best-selling albums of the year in the United States. Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that his voice had been blended with Drew Seeley's on the soundtrack, but Efron clarified that the songs (written for a tenor) were written before he was cast and therefore did not suit his more baritone vocal range. In his subsequent musical films, Efron did his own singing.

text: Efron was next seen playing the role of Link Larkin in the musical comedy film Hairspray (2007), based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name. The film became a major commercial and critical success upon its release in July 2007. Later that year, he was seen reprising his role of Troy Bolton in High School Musical 2 (2007), which aired on the Disney Channel in August 2007.

text: Efron reprised his role of Troy Bolton in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), the first film in the High School Musical franchise to receive a theatrical release. The film became a major blockbuster at the box office, and received mixed to positive reviews from critics. He followed this with the commercially successful comedy 17 Again (2009) about a 37-year-old man (Matthew Perry) who is transformed into his 17-year-old self (Efron) after a chance accident.

text: 2009–2014: Other work

text: Efron's next release was Richard Linklater's period drama Me and Orson Welles, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and received a wide release in late 2009. The film earned mostly positive reviews from critics. He next played the title role in the supernatural romantic drama Charlie St. Cloud (2010), which became a moderate success at the box office despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics.

text: Efron next appeared as a part of the large ensemble cast in Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve (2011), which depicted a series of holiday vignettes of different groups of characters. The film received almost unanimously negative reviews from critics, but became a major success at the box office. He also played a supporting role in the critically successful Liberal Arts (2012), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 and received a limited release later that year. He also starred alongside Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, David Oyelowo, and John Cusack in The Paperboy (2012), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012 and received a wider release later that year. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics.

text: After lending his voice to the commercially successful computer-animated film The Lorax (2012), he appeared as the male lead in the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film became a major box office success despite negative reviews from critics. He also starred in the drama At Any Price, which premiered at the 2012 Venice International Film Festival, and the historical drama Parkland, which premiered at the 2013 Venice International Film Festival. Both of the films received mixed reviews from critics.

text: Efron's first release of 2014 was the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment, on which he was also an executive producer. The film, which starred Efron alongside Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan as three bachelors in New York City, became a moderate commercial success despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics.

text: 2014–present: Major commercial success

text: Later in 2014, Efron was seen in the adult comedy Neighbors (2014), co-starring Seth Rogen. The film revolved around a young couple, played by Rogen and Rose Byrne, who struggle to raise their baby daughter while living next to the house of a wild fraternity led by its president, played by Efron. The film became a major commercial success and earned mostly positive reviews from critics, who also added that Efron had successfully shed his "Disney kid" pretty boy image.[19]

text: Efron's only release in 2015 was the moderately successful We Are Your Friends (2015), in which he played a struggling DJ. In January 2016, he starred alongside Robert De Niro in the adult comedy Dirty Grandpa, about a straitlaced young man who begrudgingly indulges his grandfather's unhinged personality by taking him on a vacation to Florida. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics for its crude humor, but became a commercial success upon its release. He subsequently co-starred with Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and Chloë Grace Moretz in the comedy sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which became a commercial and critical success upon its release in May 2016. The film followed the same couple (Rogen and Byrne) who team up with their former rival (Efron) to take down a hard-partying sorority led by a freshman (Moretz). His third 2016 comedy, released in July, was Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, in which he co-starred with Adam DeVine (playing siblings), as well as Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.

text: In 2017, Efron starred in Baywatch, an action comedy film version of the television series of the same name, released in May. The film features Dwayne Johnson and Efron with an ensemble cast, including Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Ilfenesh Hadera, and Priyanka Chopra. Also in 2017, Efron had a supporting role in two biographical films released in December, The Disaster Artist, a comedy-drama directed by and starring James Franco, and, as Phillip, in the musical The Greatest Showman, opposite Hugh Jackman. Both were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.[20][21]

text: Upcoming projects

text: In May 2017, it was announced that Efron will play serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, opposite Lily Collins as Bundy's girlfriend.[22] In the same year, he was cast in a co-starring role in the Harmony Korine film The Beach Bum.[23]

text: Personal life

text: Efron was on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008 as number 92, with estimated earnings of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. In April 2009, his personal wealth equaled about $10 million.[24] In May 2015, Efron's net worth was $18 million.[25]

text: People magazine said in 2007 that Efron and Vanessa Hudgens began dating in 2005 during the filming of High School Musical,[26][27][28] although Us magazine said, after the two broke up in December 2010, that they "met in 2005 while making the first High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two years later."[29] Efron began a romantic relationship with model and entrepreneur Sami Miró in September 2014. The couple split in April 2016.[30][31]

text: Efron sought treatment in early 2013 after struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse. He has been sober since June 2013.[1] In November 2013, Efron had to have his jaw wired shut after breaking it in a fall at home.[32] In March 2014, Efron engaged in a fight with a homeless man in Skid Row. Law enforcement officials did not make any arrests because they viewed it as mutual combat.[33]

text: Filmography

text:
Year

Title

Role

Notes

2003

Melinda's World

Stuart Wasser

The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke

Pete Laemke

2004

Miracle Run

Steven Morgan

Nominated: Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Supporting Young Actor

Triple Play

Harry Fuller

2005

The Derby Stallion

Patrick McCardle

2006

If You Lived Here, You'd be Home Now

Cody

High School Musical

Troy Bolton

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Award for Best TV ActorTeen Choice Award for Choice TV – Breakout StarTeen Choice Award for Choice TV – Chemistry (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)Nominated: Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor

2007

Hairspray

Link Larkin

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast (shared with Hairspray Cast)Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year (shared with Hairspray Cast)MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award for Fave Movie StarPalm Springs International Film Festival for Ensemble Cast (shared with Hairspray Cast)People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Soundtrack (shared with Hairspray Cast)Teen Choice Award for Choice Other – Male HottieYoung Hollywood Award for One to WatchNominated: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song (shared with Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky & Elijah Kelley)Nominated: Empire Award for Best Soundtrack (shared with Hairspray Cast)Nominated: Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (shared with Hairspray Cast)Nominated: People's Choice Award for Favorite Star Under 35Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Original Song (shared with Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky & Elijah Kelley)Nominated: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with Hairspray Cast)

High School Musical 2

Troy Bolton

Bravo Otto for TV Star – MaleCMA Wild and Young Award for Best Single International (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)Family Television Award for Best ActorNickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award for Fave Movie StarNominated: ASTRA Award for Favourite International Personality or ActorNominated: People's Choice Award for Favorite Star Under 35Nominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Other – Male Hottie

2008

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Troy Bolton

CMA Wild and Young Award for Best Actor InternationalCMA Wild and Young Award for Most Popular Celebrity InternationalMTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceNickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Fave Movie StarShoWest Award for Breakthrough Performer of the YearTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Music/DanceNominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)Nominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Liplock (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)Nominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Music Album – Soundtrack (shared with High School Musical 3: Senior Year Cast)

2009

17 Again

Mike O'Donnell (teen)

Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award for Fave Movie StarTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – ComedyTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Rockstar MomentNominated: CMA Wild and Young Award for Best Actor InternationalNominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceNominated: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor

Me and Orson Welles

Richard Samuels

2010

Charlie St. Cloud

Charlie St. Cloud

People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Star Under 25Nominated: CMA Wild and Young Award for Best Actor InternationalNominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Other – Male HottieNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Other – SmileNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer – Movie ActorNominated: Teen Icon Award for Iconic Actor

2011

New Year's Eve

Paul

Nominated: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble (shared with New Year's Eve Cast)

2012

Liberal Arts

Nat

The Lorax

Ted Wiggins (voice)

Voice roleNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Voice[34]

The Lucky One

Logan Thibault

People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Movie ActorTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – DramaTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – Romance[34]Nominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Liplock (shared with Taylor Schilling)[34]

The Paperboy

Jack Jansen

People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Movie ActorNominated: Village Voice Film Award for Best Supporting Actor

At Any Price

Dean Whipple

2013

Parkland

Dr. Charles James "Jim" Carrico

2014

That Awkward Moment

Jason Flynn

Also executive producerMTV Movie Award for Best Shirtless PerformanceNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Fashion – Male HottieNominated: Young Hollywood Award for Best Threesome (shared with Miles Teller & Michael B. Jordan)

Neighbors

Teddy Sanders

MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo w/ Dave FrancoMTV Movie Award for Best Shirtless PerformanceNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Fashion – Male HottieNominated: Young Hollywood Award for Best Cast Chemistry – Film (shared with Neighbors Cast)Nominated: Young Hollywood Award for Best Threesome (shared with Dave Franco & Christopher Mintz-Plasse)Nominated: People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedic Movie ActorNominated: MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Seth Rogan vs Zac Efron)Nominated: Best Musical Moment (Seth Rogan & Zac Efron)

2015

We Are Your Friends

Cole Carter

2016

Dirty Grandpa

Jason Kelly

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Theodore "Teddy" Sanders

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – ComedyNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Hissy FitNominated: People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedic Movie Actor

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Dave Stangle

2017

The Disaster Artist

Dan Janjigian

Baywatch

Matt Brody

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor – ComedyNominated: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Ship (shared with Dwayne Johnson)Nominated: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor

The Greatest Showman

Phillip Carlyle

2019

The Beach Bum

Flicker

Post-production

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Ted Bundy

Post-production

text:
Television

Year

Title

Role

Notes

2002

Firefly

Young Simon Tam

Episode: "Safe"

2003

The Guardian

Luke Tomello

Episode: "Without Consent"

2003

ER

Bobby Neville

Episode: "Dear Abby"

2004–2005

Summerland

Cameron Bale

Lead role

2005

CSI: Miami

Seth Dawson

Episode: "Sex & Taxes"

2006

NCIS

Danny

Episode: "Deception"

2006

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

Trevor

Episode: "Odd Couples"

2006

Heist

Pizza Delivery Guy

Episode: "Pilot"

2006

The Replacements

Davey Hunkerhoff

Episode: "Davey Hunkerhoff/Ratted Out"

2008–2014

Robot Chicken

Various

Voice role4 episodes

2009

Saturday Night Live

Himself

2 episodes

2009

Entourage[35]

Himself

Episode: "Security Briefs"

2014

Running Wild with Bear Grylls

Himself

Single episode; Season 1 Episode 1[36]

2016

High School Musical: 10th Anniversary

Himself

Special, cameo

text: Discography

text: It has been suggested that this section be split out  into another article titled Zac Efron discography. (Discuss) (August 2018)

text:
High School Musical (soundtrack) (2006)
Hairspray: Soundtrack to the Motion Picture (2007)
High School Musical 2 (soundtrack) (2007)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (soundtrack) (2008)
The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017)

text: Awards and nominations

text:
Year
Award
Category
Work
Result

2008

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Other: Red Carpet Fashion Icon – Male

—

Nominated

2010

Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards

Cutest Couple (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)

—

Won

Bravo Otto

Best TV Star – Male

—

Won

2017

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Comedy Movie Actor

Baywatch

Won

2018

Golden Raspberry Awards

Worst Actor

Baywatch

Nominated