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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 20 2017, @11:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the say-hi-to-Vir-Cotto-for-me dept.

NASA thinks that the technologies needed to launch an interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri at a speed of up to 0.1c could be ready by 2069:

In 2069, if all goes according to plan, NASA could launch a spacecraft bound to escape our solar system and visit our next-door neighbors in space, the three-star Alpha Centauri system, according to a mission concept presented last week at the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union and reported by New Scientist. The mission, which is pegged to the 100th anniversary of the moon landing, would also involve traveling at one-tenth the speed of light.

Last year, Representative John Culberson called for NASA to launch a 2069 mission to Alpha Centauri, but it was never included in any bill.

Meanwhile, researchers have analyzed spectrographic data for the Alpha Centauri system and found that small, rocky exoplanets are almost certainly undiscovered due to current detection limits:

The researchers set up a grid system for the Alpha Centauri system and asked, based on the spectrographic analysis, "If there was a small, rocky planet in the habitable zone, would we have been able to detect it?" Often, the answer came back: "No."

Zhao, the study's first author, determined that for Alpha Centauri A, there might still be orbiting planets that are smaller than 50 Earth masses. For Alpha Centauri B there might be orbiting planets than are smaller than 8 Earth masses; for Proxima Centauri, there might be orbiting planets that are less than one-half of Earth's mass.

In addition, the study eliminated the possibility of a number of larger planets. Zhao said this takes away the possibility of Jupiter-sized planets causing asteroids that might hit or change the orbits of smaller, Earth-like planets.

(For comparison, Saturn is ~95 Earth masses, Neptune is ~17, Uranus is ~14.5, and Mars is ~0.1.)

Also at BGR and Newsweek.

Planet Detectability in the Alpha Centauri System (DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9bea) (DX)


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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:03PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:03PM (#612259)

    That isn't quickly enough to make me happy

    Oh, get real! Nothing, absolutely nothing in this world is made to make you happy.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:27PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:27PM (#612263) Journal

    Now and then, something makes me smile, if not really happy. https://pics.me.me/cantafford-to-feed-and-house-please-spay-or-neuter-your-14920440.png [pics.me.me]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:44PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @12:44PM (#612266)

      All good until you realize that this is only incidental.

      By the example you chose as an feeble attempt of a rebuttal, you implicitly admit that even what you are making (and over which you should have a modicum of control) is not making you happy.

      Merry Christmas, old sod, may your next year plastics come better that this year's - not like you'll benefit from it, but at least you can chalk one as remarkable enough to justify your life on this Earth.

    • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday December 20 2017, @05:58PM

      by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday December 20 2017, @05:58PM (#612411) Journal

      Conservatives hate family planning, especially abortion. Now the truth comes out. They like family planning just fine when applied to liberals only!

      Anyway, we need longer lifespans. If all goes well with that plan, it'll be 2113 before any data comes back. Even today's 9 year olds probably won't be around in 2113.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @07:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 20 2017, @07:06PM (#612454)

    Make it a congressional fact-finding trip and I'll be happy.