[ModelBreaker]

“IMHO, the whole enterprise is “beyond imagining”. The reality of these distances conquers any notion we may rationally maintain of traversing them. I may cite the Fermi paradox ... where is everybody?”

The Solar System is really, really big. It will take a long time to occupy it. Then in 500 years, traversing the stars may not seem like such a big deal. Look at the world in 1615 A.D., five hundred years ago.

OTOH, we may be hard up against physics. But I wouldn’t draw that conclusion yet.

[dr_lew]

The Solar System is really, really big. It will take a long time to occupy it. Then in 500 years, traversing the stars may not seem like such a big deal. Look at the world in 1615 A.D., five hundred years ago.

I don't see the point of historical comparisons, as historical activites have been strictly confined to the surface of the earth, while the earth itself, in Newtonian terms, traverses 300 million miles each year.

So the sun is our local frame of reference, and Voyager I, after a journey of decades, is still in the front yard of our homestead, about 18 light-hours distant. This compares to the galactic scale of 100,000 light years. So how do you figure?

[UCANSEE2]

I may cite the Fermi paradox ... where is everybody?"

They're all at ...