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Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

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Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#101

Post by yogsototh »

elashri wrote: post #31

Wow, this gives a reflection about our future. The nearest potentially habitable planet known is Proxima Centauri b, which orbits the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri about 4 light‑years from Earth (at least it is in a habitable zone of its star) [1]. So we don't have a choice actually except protecting and make sure our planet survives. That's regardless if it really would be able to support life as we know or not (p…

I think there are a few movies that made me realize how much the space is vast, empty and adverse to life.

I think it would be nice for people to take a look at them:

- Aniara (2018)

- High Life (2018)

and maybe in a less artistic view:

- Powers of Ten (1977) yt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#102

Post by mindslight »

onethought wrote: post #46
elashri wrote: post #31

Wow, this gives a reflection about our future. The nearest potentially habitable planet known is Proxima Centauri b, which orbits the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri about 4 light‑years from Earth (at least it is in a habitable zone of its star) [1]. So we don't have a choice actually except protecting and make sure our planet survives. That's regardless if it really would be able to support life as we know or not (p…

Or we learn how to make uninhabitable planets habitable. Would also help us “save” this one. (Funny how we say “save the planet” when we really mean “save people/complex life”).

Given that there is very little interest in developing commons here on earth (especially new types of commons from whole cloth), the shape that "making uninhabitable planets habitable" would likely take is that of living in bubbles rather than some kind of broad-scale terraforming. This would intrinsically shape society towards top-down authoritarian control, rather than allowing for distributed individual liberty. In this light, Earth's bountiful distributed air, water, and wildlife should be viewed as a technological-society-bootstrapping resource similar to easily-accessible oil and coil stored energy deposits.

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#103

Post by iainmerrick »

omoikane wrote: post #81
glenstein wrote: post #30

Not that we would literally do this with Voyager, but it makes me wonder at the potential utility of a string of probes, one sent every couple of [insert correct time interval, decades, centuries?], to effectively create a communication relay stretching out into deep space somewhere. My understanding with the Voyagers 1 and 2 is (a) they will run out of power before they would ever get far enough to benefit from a re…

I wonder if we can go the reverse direction, where instead of launching more probes from Earth to serve as relays, the spacecraft would launch physical media toward Earth packed with whatever data it has collected. Given advancements in data storage density, we could achieve higher bandwidth than what's possible with radios. The logistics would be difficult since it involves catch those flying media, especially if th…

The spacecraft is moving away from the sun at escape velocity. How is it going to launch anything backwards and have it make it all the way back to earth?

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#104

Post by roflmaostc »

threethirtytwo wrote: post #88
glenstein wrote: post #30

Not that we would literally do this with Voyager, but it makes me wonder at the potential utility of a string of probes, one sent every couple of [insert correct time interval, decades, centuries?], to effectively create a communication relay stretching out into deep space somewhere. My understanding with the Voyagers 1 and 2 is (a) they will run out of power before they would ever get far enough to benefit from a re…

No one likes to think this but it’s very possible voyager is the farthest humanity will go. In fact realistically speaking it is the far more likeliest possibility.

This is all based on the assumption that we are not able to build spacecrafts with faster speeds.

There was simply no incentive to do so yet. But one day we will build faster spacecrafts and then we are going to overtake it quite quickly.

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#105

Post by phkahler »

gregable wrote: post #99
sph wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on what? That we will never be able to make probes travelling faster than ~17km/s (relative to the Sun) that will eventually reach and overtake Voyager 1? I certainly wouldn't bet against technological progress, and I say that as a complete doomer.

Well voyager depended on a solar system alignment that only happens every 175 years(?) so it'd be a while before we get that same advantage again. The longer it takes the further of a head start voyager gets?

Starship could be refueled in orbit. That should then be able to reach those kind of velocities with enough capacity to even include a small 3rd stage inside with the payload.

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#106

Post by Sanzig »

threethirtytwo wrote: post #88
glenstein wrote: post #30

Not that we would literally do this with Voyager, but it makes me wonder at the potential utility of a string of probes, one sent every couple of [insert correct time interval, decades, centuries?], to effectively create a communication relay stretching out into deep space somewhere. My understanding with the Voyagers 1 and 2 is (a) they will run out of power before they would ever get far enough to benefit from a re…

No one likes to think this but it’s very possible voyager is the farthest humanity will go. In fact realistically speaking it is the far more likeliest possibility.

Provided we don't wipe ourselves out, there's no technical reason why we can't go interstellar. It's just way harder and more energy intensive than most people imagine, so I doubt it's happening any time in the next few hundred years.

But we already understand the physics and feasibility of "slow" (single-digit fractions of c) interstellar propulsion systems. Nuclear pulse propulsion and fission fragment rockets require no new physics or exotic engineering leaps and could propel a probe to the stars, if one was so inclined. Fusion rockets would do a bit better, although we'd have to crack the fusion problem first. These sorts of things are well out of today's technology, but it's not unforeseeable in a few centuries. You could likewise imagine a generation ship a few centuries after that powered by similar technology.

The prerequisite for interstellar exploration is a substantial exploitation of our solar system's resources: terraform Mars, strip mine the asteroid belt, build giant space habitats like O'Neill cylinders. But if we ever get to that point - and I think it's reasonable to think we will, given enough time - an interstellar mission becomes the logical next step.

Will we ever get to the point where traveling between the stars is commonplace? No, I doubt it. But we may get to the point where once-in-a-century colonization missions are possible, and if that starts, there's no limit to humanity colonizing the Milky Way given a few million years.

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#107

Post by Mogzol »

gregable wrote: post #99
sph wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on what? That we will never be able to make probes travelling faster than ~17km/s (relative to the Sun) that will eventually reach and overtake Voyager 1? I certainly wouldn't bet against technological progress, and I say that as a complete doomer.

Well voyager depended on a solar system alignment that only happens every 175 years(?) so it'd be a while before we get that same advantage again. The longer it takes the further of a head start voyager gets?

The headstart doesn't really matter, anything faster than Voyager will catch up eventually

Re: Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

#109

Post by threethirtytwo »

jacobgkau wrote: post #93
threethirtytwo wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one likes to think this but it’s very possible voyager is the farthest humanity will go. In fact realistically speaking it is the far more likeliest possibility.

If I understand correctly, you're just basing that statement on climate change or war destroying us before we can do any better than Voyager, right? Because if we don't assume the destruction of humanity or the complete removal of our ability to make things leave Earth, then just based on "finite past vs. infinite future," it seems incredibly unlikely that we'd never be able to beat an extremely old project operating…

Many reasons why. The probability is based on many many many factors. What you mentioned is just a fraction of the factors.

If we do ever reach that distance again it will be even less likely we do it for a third time.

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