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Where would w go?

  • 27-12-2016 3:35pm
    #1
    ScumLord
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭


    Say we had star ships like in star trek and could travel pretty extensively around our part of the galaxy. Where would we go? The nearest star is an obvious first target but after that what would scientists want to head for?

    Are there things near enough to our solar system that scientists would want to study? What big scientific questions need to be answered by traveling to other parts of the galaxy? What would the first major exploration projects be heading for?


Comments

  • #2
    CINCLANTFLT
    Closed Accounts Posts: 781 ✭✭✭CINCLANTFLT


    There's enough in this solar system that I'd start with... Mars, Europa, Titan...

    After that, I'd love to find and visit another Earth like planet... to stand outside without a spacesuit, under another sun would be amazing...


  • #3
    Dave0JV
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 67 ✭✭Dave0JV


    I imagine we'd to try go to as many earth-like planets as possible, maybe even some planets that are just in the "Goldilocks zone" in order to find place to colonise and/or other intelligent life.


  • #4
    CINCLANTFLT
    Closed Accounts Posts: 781 ✭✭✭CINCLANTFLT


    Gliese 667 Cc


  • #5
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,769 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    To the moon, to place a wreath on behalf of those who have gone before.


  • #6
    greedygoblin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,654 ✭✭✭greedygoblin


    Call me a big old cynic but I think people would head to wherever there is money to be made. Be that mining asteroids for gold/platinum/silver, or going to that planet that consists mostly of diamond.


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  • #7
    seamus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Most efficient use of time would be a large fleet of automated craft that explore solar systems, catalogue what's available and then report back to a central database.
    Would make no sense to send a huge manned vehicle on a mission into the literal unknown.

    Armed with far better information about what's where in our corner of the galaxy, we would then set off on comprehensive missions to those areas with massive resources and earth like planets.

    If the technology was to just appear tomorrow though, I think we would be cautious and sentimental - the bulk of our manned exploration would be inside our own solar system for a couple of decades.


  • #8
    judeboy101
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,246 ✭✭✭judeboy101


    Whichever planet has the sexy green skinned Orion slave girls


  • #9
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,601 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Rammer by Larry Niven gives one answer.
    The pilot of a ram drive ship figures out that due to relativity the quickest way of visiting multiple planets from his point of view is a long trip to a distant cluster of stars where the remaining trips are very short.


  • #10
    ScumLord
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    Capt'n Midnight wrote: »
    Rammer by Larry Niven gives one answer.
    The pilot of a ram drive ship figures out that due to relativity the quickest way of visiting multiple planets from his point of view is a long trip to a distant cluster of stars where the remaining trips are very short.
    That's the kind of thing I was wondering about. At the moment we only know what type of stars are near us and a rough idea of planets attached to those stars.

    In our own solar system it's pretty straight forward, head for the other planets. Would we want to go to a nebula to see starrs being made? For instance.


  • #11
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,601 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    [QUOTE=ScumLord;102129365In our own solar system it's pretty straight forward, head for the other planets. Would we want to go to a nebula to see starrs being made? For instance.[/QUOTE]Star forming is an energy intensive and slow process. So you'd have to wait around for a long time in a place you don't want to get too close too.

    Here planets are worth visiting. By probes.

    There are a good few asteroids like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3753_Cruithne that are close to us in an energy sense. Travel time might be slow though.


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  • #12
    ScumLord
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    Capt'n Midnight wrote: »
    Star forming is an energy intensive and slow process. So you'd have to wait around for a long time in a place you don't want to get too close too.

    If we were going somewhere outside our solar system we'd need to be able to travel faster than light. If you were traveling faster than light you'd be sort of compressing the view ahead of you as you travel. So depending on how many times faster than light you're traveling you should be getting that much more information from whatever your ship is pointed at. Would make traveling to these places worth while if you can get 100,000 years worth of information from a few months of traveling.


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