Few interesting discoveries

Bohrio

Just thought I'd share this

Both discoveries sound pretty interesting, a planet inside a 4 star system and a new planet discovered in our neighbour star Alfa Centauri B, the planet is too close to the star but its a start as there might be other planets further away!

Alfa Centauri

4 star system

shizz

In regards to the Alpha Centuari news; I really don't understand how they consider sending a probe out there to be a viable use of NASA time, or anyone else's for that matter.

namloc1980

It would be an awe inspiring mission but without seriously phenomenal leaps in technology and limitless financial resources it won't happen, not for a century at least and prob longer.

shizz

Just sending something out in that direction wouldn't be overly difficult compared to sending a probe there to study and relay information back. That's just crazy at this moment in time. I'll put it down to the astronomers being overly excited.

namloc1980

shizz wrote: »

Just sending something out in that direction wouldn't be overly difficult compared to sending a probe there to study and relay information back. That's just crazy at this moment in time. I'll put it down to the astronomers being overly excited.

With current technology it would take tens of thousands of years to reach alpha centauri. Over exuberant astronomers as you say.

shizz

namloc1980 wrote: »

With current technology it would take tens of thousands of years to reach alpha centauri. Over exuberant astronomers as you say.

I know yea. Sure at that rate future technology could probably overtake whatever we send.

Rubecula

While I agree with you mostly Shizz, I also think that sending something now will be a step forward. Many space missions have developed from earlier efforts (and mistakes) We can not learn so much by NOT having a go. A few million spent now will help point out where we are going wrong (if indeed we do go wrong) Besides just think of the excitement in a few thousand years time when a perfectly preserved time capsule is captured half way to Alpha Centauri.

Yes it is probably silly to attempt such an endeavour with today's technology. But they said that about Columbus travelling to the far east the wrong way, and if he hadn't tried that trip we would not have found the Americas.

I say let them have a go, who knows what will turn up from the trip.

namloc1980

Rubecula wrote: »

While I agree with you mostly Shizz, I also think that sending something now will be a step forward. Many space missions have developed from earlier efforts (and mistakes) We can not learn so much by NOT having a go. A few million spent now will help point out where we are going wrong (if indeed we do go wrong) Besides just think of the excitement in a few thousand years time when a perfectly preserved time capsule is captured half way to Alpha Centauri.

Yes it is probably silly to attempt such an endeavour with today's technology. But they said that about Columbus travelling to the far east the wrong way, and if he hadn't tried that trip we would not have found the Americas.

I say let them have a go, who knows what will turn up from the trip.

Have we not done this already with Voyager 1 & 2 and Pioneer 10 & 11?

Capt'n Midnight

namloc1980 wrote: »

Have we not done this already with Voyager 1 & 2 and Pioneer 10 & 11?

Different direction IIRC
google will tell you how long they'd take to get there

let's put it this way, you have to consider the relative motion of the stars over the time scales involved

namloc1980

I don't see the benefit of sending something with today's technology on a mission like this. I also forgot New Horizons is also on an interstellar trajectory. Nothing would be learned from it I think.

Bohrio

I know thousands of years might seem like a lot but it really isnt, dinosaurs "ruled" the earth for millions of years, we have been here for a few thousand.

no I am going to get a bit melancollic so bear with me!!!

There is one thing that makes me sometimes wonder, and this is how long are we "humans" gonna be around for and, if something is to happen to us who will remember us? sending probes makes me think that maybe, one day, thousands of years from now someone might find (hopefully nice aliens if they are indeed out there) it and take a look at it and realized that, lets say, thousands of years ago there was a place called earth, populated by humans, etc, etc..

I started thinking like this after watching a Star Trek espisode, and before you say it, no I am not a star trek freak, its not like I know the exact episode (The Inner light, episode 25, season 5) were piccard encounters this alien probe of an extinct civilization and the probe tells him the story of a now extinct civilization that lived thousands of years ago (the way the probe tells him the story is pretty cool but I wont go into detail)... I always thought we might day be that planet... the concept is called a bracewell probe...

Do I sound too sentimental? I know is not very scientific, maybe it because I am getting older...

ciaranmac

Rubecula wrote: »

While I agree with you mostly Shizz, I also think that sending something now will be a step forward. Many space missions have developed from earlier efforts (and mistakes) We can not learn so much by NOT having a go. A few million spent now will help point out where we are going wrong (if indeed we do go wrong) Besides just think of the excitement in a few thousand years time when a perfectly preserved time capsule is captured half way to Alpha Centauri.

Yes it is probably silly to attempt such an endeavour with today's technology. But they said that about Columbus travelling to the far east the wrong way, and if he hadn't tried that trip we would not have found the Americas.

I say let them have a go, who knows what will turn up from the trip.

From where we are now it's more like Columbus trying to swim around the world. A lot of technological change needed to happen before they had ships capable of crossing the Atlantic. In fact he was only funded because he massively underestimated the amount of ocean he had to cross. If there was no New World in the way, he and his crew would have starved to death before they reached China.

Standard Toaster

If we sent our fastest-ever space probe to Alpha Centauri, the Sun's nearest star system, the journey would take 75,000 years.

Capt'n Midnight

Standard Toaster wrote: »

If we sent our fastest-ever space probe to Alpha Centauri, the Sun's nearest star system, the journey would take 75,000 years.

and the radioisotope generator would last for how long ?

over those time scales things like electromigration are important
you get tin whiskers forming too

Have a look at this in 25,000 years time Alpha Centauri will be 3 light years away, but by 75,000 years it will be 6 light years away.

It's a moving target and it will be moving away faster than our probe.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars#Future_and_past