Reaching the exoplanet K2-18b would take an incredibly long time. It's located 124 light-years away, meaning that even at the speed of our fastest spacecraft, it would take approximately 187,000 years to travel that distance. Using Voyager-type spacecraft, it could take 2 million years to reach K2-18b.
I certainly don't have the intelligence to answer that question, but from a basic principle if we think it, we can do it. I'm sure there are some intelligent minds out there that have theories, it's how we move that into reality. Even if I think of some sort of obvious answer like nuclear fusion, it's probably going to be no where near enough for the capabilities of human travel, so my thoughts move to robotic travel in whatever form that may take, however, whatever we think of would be out of date just part way through the journey over time. A light year is 6 trillion miles, and voyager 1 is currently 15 billion miles from Earth and has been on it's entire journey doing it's bits for just under 48 years (hope my sums are right here). So we are no where near even scraping the surface of what is required. Voyager probably isn't a good example but it's the best we have for now, other than for various other space explorations completed and ongoing within our own solar system. I'd like to think there is something we are missing, something that we've not discovered yet that is going to open that door to the evolution of the human race, but is fate or god going to open that door for us. Apart from the obvious reasons (war), why confine us to Earth. Although after the botox run the other day Bezos is not cutting it for me, and Musk is just a raving lunatic. So let them waste their money and blow them or their passengers up, they will give us the lessons, but not the answers. We got to think big about this, bigger than we've ever thought before....or wait until we stumble on the answer. Maybe the dinosaurs have already told us the story, we are to live and die here and only here - because for sure if we don't wipe ourselves out, then one day another big **** off rock just might come our way.
Another answer could be there are already humans out there somewhere, so we have no reason to travel, we just already exist elsewhere and don't know it lol. Therefore will never find the answers.
The short answer is no. Maybe one day we will master entanglement, in a sort of 'Beam me up Scotty' way, but I'm nonplussed how we will ever transfer consciousness, let alone even define what it is. Micro sails in a sort of laser convyer belt, ultimately powered from the earth are one option, but even close to the speed of light (which is nowhere near the speed even microsails can reach) would still be a round trip of @ 250 years for information to be obtained and received, so that's a question of who will fund that knowing there's no political advantage. But all that said, remember that in the late 19th century after Maxwell's equations, they thought they knew practically everything (not Maxwell himself, I hasten to add), and scientists openly speculated that travelling faster than 200 mph would force your eyeballs back in to your head and make your brain explode. We should never limit our ambitions based upon what we currently know because one thing is absolutely sure - we'll always know a lot less than what there is to know, and in the immortal words of Johnny Nash, the more we find out, the less we know. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_z__s_gb-2I
Maybe the eyeballs into the back of the head and our brain exploding would have been the solution to, and ending of all our adventures....that did make me laugh.
I'd seen that short reel before, easier to digest. Photons and quantum mechanics intrigue me, no idea why it should be as boring as hell and probably is lol.
yeah, on Amazon there is 45 minute documentary called Faster Than Light - The Dream Of Interstellar Travel, that is a bit more in-depth but not as long as some of the Discovery/Nova documenturies on the subject. The bottom line is that the quicker mass travels, the heavier it weighs, and a human being, let alone a spacecraft, is a lot of mass.
Yes, but they're fleeing the Cylons on the very last battlestar left alive. But hopefully in a special episode they will reach earth Circa 1980.
We can't settle exoplanets before we settle something closer to home. I <shudder> agree with Musk that there is importance in settling Mars. Not because I think Mars will ever be more habitable than Earth... and not necessarily as a safety basket should Earth get destroyed (it's going to take a long time for anything on Mars to be truly self sufficient- first colonies in the New World all died off despite it being earth). If some idiot nukes the world, he'll probably find a way to destroy Mars too anyway- it's too close. I think we need to do it for the science and advancement of mankind. Just like with the space program, military programs of all kinds, and other "we don't need to do this" programs. The challenges presented by learning to colonise Mars will learn to advances practical for here on Earth. It's also impractical to travel many light years away now, but we learn the skills for living off the planet first while we develop faster transportation, and then we apply what we learn to deep space travel.
I had to google what a Cylon was, I never watched any of that sci-fi stuff. Although I watched Doctor Who and remember the Cybermen and Daleks that could fly
All that is true, and even Stephen Hawking greatly promoted expanding out into the solar system (and we will in the coming millennium, for sure), but let's not forget this place. I just saw a documentary on Apollo 8 recently, and the Earthrise photograph and all that, and of course the corny but true maxim that we went to the moon to discover the earth. This is the place we evolved on—this oasis is perfect. This is the garden of Eden. We need population control though..
I watched Dr Who as a kid (from behind the sofa) and until the 21st century Dr Who I never saw Daleks flying. But apparently they did in a 60's film. Who knew?
Plenty of iron ore on Mars for our British Steel mills, I expect Mr Starmer is already on the case....although he might need Trumps America or Xi's China to help him to achieve any aim there.
Yeah it was the latter Dr Who's I saw them flying, not the old black and white episodes from the 60's. I don't remember them flying in the 60's film, maybe they did then.
