Thanks Red Badger.
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Posted on 06/12/2023 7:40:42 AM PDT by McGruff
A nearby exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of a star just 4.2 light-years from Earth may be home to a vast ocean, boosting its chances of supporting life. Since its discovery, questions about the conditions at the surface of Proxima b have been swirling; the planet’s mass is just about 1.3 times that of Earth’s, and the red dwarf star it circles is similar in age to our sun.
Studies over the last few years, however, have both bolstered hopes of its habitability and shot them down. Now, a new study has once again raised the possibility that Proxima b could support life, suggesting that under the right conditions, the exoplanet could sustain liquid water.
“The major message from our simulations is that there’s a decent chance that the planet would be habitable,” Anthony Del Genio, a planetary scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told LiveScience.
Since its discovery, questions about the conditions at the surface of Proxima b have been swirling; the planet's mass is just about 1.3 times that of Earth's, and the red dwarf star it circles is similar in age to our sun. Artist's impression
In the study published this month in the journal Astrobiology, the researchers ran what are said to be the first climate simulations of Proxima b with a dynamic ocean. The planet is thought to be tidally locked with its star, Proxima Cent
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.thespaceacademy.org ...
We could call the spacecraft ‘V-Ger’....................
And if our Voyager spacecraft , launched in the 1970’s, had been sent on an intercept course, at present speed, it would only have taken right at 100K years to arrive.
By, ah, what kind of entity?
Cthulhu.............................
At least we’d be rid of them.
True and they are prone to flares which would fry the planet surface.......................
Based on the book “Expedition” illustrated by the incomparable Wayne Barlowe.
Wake me up when they build a Hilton there. 😏
Starbucks first, then Walmart........................
Thanks Red Badger.
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James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock haven’t been born yet.
If you look at every successful settlement throughout human history they all had one thing in common. They were cheaper to live than where the settlers came from. The idea modern men will go someplace and start over with low tech tools is ridiculous.
Tell them it is trans friendly and everyone is a fabulous drag queen. They all get trophies and no one is ever offended. The snowflakes will emigrate en masse.
A light year is 5.88 trillion miles, so 4 light years is 940,800,000,000,000 miles. I’m not sure “nearby” is the correct adjective.
We’d never be able to go there, even if it is possible. Leftists would demand that we don’t ‘contaminate’ the natural state with our presence. The moment we step foot there...it’d now be ‘unnatural’. Or maybe they’d allow it if the people were all part of the ‘Pride’ crowd.
One big problem:
Proxima b circles the star in 11.3 days. A consequence of this proximity is that the planet is undoubtedly tidally locked by the gravitational forces of the star — meaning that the planet does not rotate like Earth does but rather has a daytime and nighttime side like our moon. Some now argue that a tidally locked planet could theoretically be habitable, but the consensus seems to be that it is an obstacle to habitability rather than a benefit.
It could be broiling and uninhabitable on the constant dayside, and freezing cold—well below -100 C on the nightside.
If it has an ocean and atmosphere, this could temper the extreme temperatures, but one may see unbelievably strong storms—much stronger than hurricanes, more like tornados— where the differently heated/cold air collides.
The planet is close to its sun, is tidally locked, has no evidence of a magnetic field to protect the planet from cosmic radiation and solar flares, and thus is NOT "highly inhabitable".
“Just” 4 light years away?
We can’t even get back to the Moon so far.
IMO, We are also wasting time exploring Mars, a planet that is atmospherically, inhospitable to human beings. Just the one way trip is likely to be fatal, what with air pressure and temperature changes. There will be heavy wear & tear on the body and the psyche. No one really knows what to expect. And for what? “Because it’s there!” is no longer a good enough reason to sacrifice the lives of our Astronauts.
If you watched Star Trek, this is basically an impulse engine. We could reach Alpha Centauri in 44 years!
An atomic (fission) Orion can achieve perhaps 9–11% of the speed of light. A nuclear pulse drive starship powered by fusion-antimatter catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion units would be similarly in the 10% range and pure Matter-antimatter annihilation rockets would be theoretically capable of obtaining a velocity between 50% and 80% of the speed of light.
At 0.1c, Orion thermonuclear starships would require a flight time of at least 44 years to reach Alpha Centauri, not counting time needed to reach that speed (about 36 days at constant acceleration of 1g or 9.8 m/s2). At 0.1c, an Orion starship would require 100 years to travel 10 light years.
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