Posted on 01/26/2016 2:19:03 PM PST by BenLurkin
We know there are planets orbiting other stars near to our Solar System, and many of these stars are similar to our own.
In the future, should mankind wish to leave the Solar System, we'll have a huge choice of stars we could travel to, and many could have the right conditions for life to thrive. But where would we go and how long would it take for us to get there? Just remember, this is all speculative and there is currently no benchmark for interstellar trips. That being said, here we go!
...
The question of how long would it take to get somewhere in space is somewhat easier when dealing with existing technology and bodies within our Solar System. For instance, using the technology that powered the New Horizons mission - which consisted of 16 thrusters fueled with hydrazine monopropellant - reaching the Moon would take a mere 8 hours and 35 minutes.
On the other hand, there is the European Space Agency's (ESA) SMART-1 mission, which took it's time traveling to the Moon using the method of ionic propulsion. With this revolutionary technology, a variation of which has since been used by the Dawn spacecraft to reach Vesta, the SMART-1 mission took one year, one month and two weeks to reach the Moon.
So, from the speedy rocket-propelled spacecraft to the economical ion drive, we have a few options for getting around local space - plus we could use Jupiter or Saturn for a hefty gravitational slingshot. However, if we were to contemplate missions to somewhere a little more out of the way, we would have to scale up our technology and look at what’s really possible.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Don’t you think that they meant “nearest star other than our own” ?
Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t know what they mean.
Probably.
That demonstrates one of the many benefits of writing clearly.
thanks. it seems so much more exciting on Star Trek :)
Thank you.
Longer than that. Besides our Sun, the nearest star in Proxima Centauri. It’s about 6 light years from Earth. A single light year, the distance light travels in a vacuum is about 9 trillion miles. So 6 time 9 trillion is 54 trillion miles. You might want to take along a few good books and some DVDs.
+1 Saved me the trouble of pointing that out.
I have found that one of the best ways to really get a feel for the sheer size of the universe is to play around with a program called Celestia. There are versions available for Mac, Linux and Windoze.
The program allows you to fly areound the universe at whatever speed you like. It is an awesome program. Try flying around the solar system at ‘just’ the speed of light. It takes foever to get anywhere.
Then make tracks to alpha centauri while increasing your speed to a mind-blowing 30 or so AU per second, which means you are travelling at a speed that will blow past pluto onece a second. You’d think you are really hauling ass, but even at ludicrous spped, you’re not going to get there any time in the next few days.
Anyone in thread can explain like I’m five: If ship is traveling at speed of light, could some light based “radar” bounce off something in ships path, and return echo, faster than ship itself meeting said obstacle?
Hope I formed question clearly enough..
Sounds interesting. I’ll check it out.
Until we discover some way around relativity, it just ain’t going to happen. A trip to even the closest star with a tiny unmanned probe would take decades. Anything bigger, or with people on board, would take generations, if it were even possible.
Ion drives are highly efficient, in terms of the thrust you get for the weight of propellant you carry, but they are also extremely low powered. That’s why it took so long.
The Norks have already been there. (snicker)
-PJ
No, Sol is the nearest star, but we usually just call it the sun.
Think again - Sol, usually called the sun, is the “nearest star”.
“If ship is traveling at speed of light, could some light based “radar†bounce off something in ships path, and return echo, faster than ship itself meeting said obstacle?”
No, the maximum speed of light (in a vacuum) is invariant, that is one of the basic rules of relativity. What this means is that, if you were on a spaceship traveling at the speed of light, and you turn on the headlights (or the radar beam in your example), the beam wouldn’t go anywhere.
When we think of physical objects, like standing on a moving train and throwing a ball forward, we have to add the velocity of the train and the ball together to get the total velocity. With light, it just doesn’t work that way. It has a maximum speed, and it can never travel faster than that, period.
Now, the whole question really is academic, because if you were traveling on a ship at the speed of light, time would stop. So you couldn’t possibly turn on the radar or headlights, because you wouldn’t be able to move, or think, or anything else. You’d be frozen in time. If the ship ever decelerated below light speed, it would seem to you as if you had traveled instantaneously.
There was a young lady named Bright
Who could travel much faster than light
She set off one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night.
The article is about leaving the solar system, the sun you refer to is IN our solar system.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.