Top 10 List of Habitable Stars to Guide Search

space.com ^ | 02/21/06 | Ker Than

[Brett66]

Realtivistic effects at 100,000 MPH are basically nil. A probe would need to be traveling about 80% the speed of light before it starts becoming noticeable.

[ccmay]

The Universe is vast. I am pretty sure there is life on other star systems.

I agree.

They likely will resemble life on Earth, not the freakish ones we see in movies.

Rubbish. At best, there will be an endoskeleton and a symmetric distribution of sensory organs and limbs.

The "freakish" aliens you typically see in movies are shocking precisely because they have a vague resemblance to humans. Two eyes above a midline nose, and below the nose a mouth with teeth. Head on top of spine, two arms, two legs, bipedal gait, etc.

Real aliens will look nothing like humans or even necessarily like vertebrates. They may look like an odd sea creature, or they may be something totally new like a Horta.

[ccmay]

If I calculated correctly, that works out to 1141 years for a one way trip....

Interesting. Certainly too far for a manned mission, but quite within the realm of possibility for an unmanned probe.

The pyramids and Great Wall of China took hundreds of years to build. Sending a probe to another star system could be a comparable monument left by our own generation.

-ccm

[mc5cents]

Lets play "Spot The Alien"!

[Ptarmigan]

True. Since you mentioned it, here on Earth, there are freakish life. Ever seen those deep-sea or cave life? Some are really freakish. I wonder if there is a planet inhabited by bunny like races that are war-like? :)