261–270 of 330 posts
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A really powerful magnetic field could help, also. Without our field, we would be in trouble, too.
This is false. Earth's magnetic field does not significantly impact atmospheric loss. For comparison, Venus is closer to the sun and has no magnetic field, but has a substantially thicker atmosphere than earth.
48 light years is in our back yard. Close enough that we could probably develop a probe to get there in the next few centuries and check it out. What are the current popular candidates for propulsion systems capable of accelerating to near the speed of light?
Just going to recycle this comment I made in reply to an almost identical comment as yours. I don't think you folks realize how big space actually is. The speed of light is 1079 252 848 km/h, the fastest space craft ever made was the Parker Solar probe (using a sling shot) clocking in at 692 000 km/h. So at that speed it would take, 1559 years to travel one light year. This planet sits at a distance of 48 light years…
After 44 days of acceleration. On a multi-millennia mission we’re talking a velocity likely 300x what the Parker Solar Probe achieved (while falling into the Sun).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A really powerful magnetic field could help, also. Without our field, we would be in trouble, too.
This is false. Earth's magnetic field does not significantly impact atmospheric loss. For comparison, Venus is closer to the sun and has no magnetic field, but has a substantially thicker atmosphere than earth.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A really powerful magnetic field could help, also. Without our field, we would be in trouble, too.
This is false. Earth's magnetic field does not significantly impact atmospheric loss. For comparison, Venus is closer to the sun and has no magnetic field, but has a substantially thicker atmosphere than earth.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, they would see the I-35 out of Houston, but that would show them no sign of intelligence. Just signs of corruption
Heh, your flip remark leads to an interesting observation: I think the most obvious signature of "abstract intelligence" is suboptimality. An alien would look at an agricultural grid and wonder, what possible natural process would divide something into squares rather than hexagons? Even without knowing what they are or how they form, it's hard to imagine anything that would prefer such a high energy configuration. Su…
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Even on that scale, major roads and agricultural grids are clearly visible. The mark of abstract intelligence is unmistakeable.
Well, they would see the I-35 out of Houston, but that would show them no sign of intelligence. Just signs of corruption
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> if you were floating in a spacesuit at the same spot you'd also see that resolution (likely highly distorted) with the naked eye …would you? The lensing would occur right at the apparent surface of the sun.
You would still need the sun shield in place obv.
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Well, they would see the I-35 out of Houston, but that would show them no sign of intelligence. Just signs of corruption
The most powerful observational tool in the universe would not show 35 anywhere near Houston.
We should build a solar lens telescope. By the time we're ready to use it, we'll have a bunch of candidates to point it at.
There's a project that's going well from NASA for this. Still a moonshot but they've progressed through the early stages well so far. https://www.nasa.gov/general/direct-multipixel-imaging-and-s...
Though the 25km resolution mentioned actually sounds far, far better than the very pixellated planet in the "artist’s depiction". I suppose it depends how small and far away the planet is.
48 light years is in our back yard. Close enough that we could probably develop a probe to get there in the next few centuries and check it out. What are the current popular candidates for propulsion systems capable of accelerating to near the speed of light?
Just going to recycle this comment I made in reply to an almost identical comment as yours. I don't think you folks realize how big space actually is. The speed of light is 1079 252 848 km/h, the fastest space craft ever made was the Parker Solar probe (using a sling shot) clocking in at 692 000 km/h. So at that speed it would take, 1559 years to travel one light year. This planet sits at a distance of 48 light years…