Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - 'Second Earth' found, 20 light years away

ken0042 · 10-17-2007, 01:11 PM

A few random thoughts:

- At some point in our lives we each didn't know what a light year was. The person asked a question here; which was indeed quantifiable. No need to continue beating that dead horse; as I'm sure each of us will at some point want to know something, and it would be nice to be able to ask.

- 20 LY is relatively close. If we sent a message today, we could get an answer back within my lifetime. That is good to know.

- Watching Discovery once it is believed that the greatest obsticle an Earth ship would face is the radiation that exists beyond the orbit of Pluto. Beyond that the issue is the size of the vessel, as it would need to be large enough to contain enough supplies to keep the humans alive. Next issue is deceleration. There are theoretical engines out there that could propel us up to 1/5 the speed of light. But once we get up to that speed; we would need that much fuel again to decelerate the ship.

- Another issue with a launch today. let's say we discovered this planet in 1967, and immediately launched a ship. With 2007 technology, we could catch up to that 1967 ship and pass them in about 5 years; making the 1967 launch a waste of time. Then the year 2047 rolls around, and the 2007 ship also gets passed by something newer and faster. And before the 2047 ship gets there, it also gets passed by another ship launched in 2087.

- Gravity. Keep in mind it's based on mass; not volume. I forget the exact numbers, but Jupiter is about 1000 times the volume of Earth. But the gravity is only about 10 times our own. So this planet having 1.5 times the volume may have as much or even less gravity. If their core is aluminum instead of iron like Earth's, it could have less mass. If you still have issues with my mass vs volume example; think of it this way- I'm going to throw a ball at your head and it's going to hit your head at 25 mph. Would you rather I throw a beachball, or a snooker ball? (One has more volume; one has more mass)

- If there is intelligent life on this planet, they could be decades or even centuries ahead or behind us. If they are ahead; they may have near light speed capabilities; but don't know where to point their ships. If we send them a message; they could come visit us. If they are behind us by 100 years, they could send us details of their solar system. With the details we could use their planets like Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus to slow down our approach.

Very cool to explore all the possibilities.

10-17-2007, 01:11 PM	#58
ken0042 Playboy Mansion Poolboy Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout Exp:	A few random thoughts: - At some point in our lives we each didn't know what a light year was. The person asked a question here; which was indeed quantifiable. No need to continue beating that dead horse; as I'm sure each of us will at some point want to know something, and it would be nice to be able to ask. - 20 LY is relatively close. If we sent a message today, we could get an answer back within my lifetime. That is good to know. - Watching Discovery once it is believed that the greatest obsticle an Earth ship would face is the radiation that exists beyond the orbit of Pluto. Beyond that the issue is the size of the vessel, as it would need to be large enough to contain enough supplies to keep the humans alive. Next issue is deceleration. There are theoretical engines out there that could propel us up to 1/5 the speed of light. But once we get up to that speed; we would need that much fuel again to decelerate the ship. - Another issue with a launch today. let's say we discovered this planet in 1967, and immediately launched a ship. With 2007 technology, we could catch up to that 1967 ship and pass them in about 5 years; making the 1967 launch a waste of time. Then the year 2047 rolls around, and the 2007 ship also gets passed by something newer and faster. And before the 2047 ship gets there, it also gets passed by another ship launched in 2087. - Gravity. Keep in mind it's based on mass; not volume. I forget the exact numbers, but Jupiter is about 1000 times the volume of Earth. But the gravity is only about 10 times our own. So this planet having 1.5 times the volume may have as much or even less gravity. If their core is aluminum instead of iron like Earth's, it could have less mass. If you still have issues with my mass vs volume example; think of it this way- I'm going to throw a ball at your head and it's going to hit your head at 25 mph. Would you rather I throw a beachball, or a snooker ball? (One has more volume; one has more mass) - If there is intelligent life on this planet, they could be decades or even centuries ahead or behind us. If they are ahead; they may have near light speed capabilities; but don't know where to point their ships. If we send them a message; they could come visit us. If they are behind us by 100 years, they could send us details of their solar system. With the details we could use their planets like Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus to slow down our approach. Very cool to explore all the possibilities.