We likely will soon know the truth of this matter, but this report does make for an interesting read about another earth-like planet that is not so far away - only 4.2 light years. :)
NEW WORLD REVEALED 'Secret second Earth' that could be home to ALIENS will be exposed tomorrow
THE SUN
BY JASPER HAMILL AND MATTHEW DUNN 23rd August 2016, 9:59 am
ASTRONOMERS are preparing to announce the discovery of a potentially habitable second Earth orbiting a nearby star, it has been claimed.
Last month, sources leaked news that the European Southern Observatory (ESO) had spotted an alien world orbiting Proxima Centauri, our closest stellar neighbour.
An anonymous source from the ESO told German publication Der Spiegel the discovery is the closest habitable planet to Earth, which means we could reach it within our lifetime.
It is not yet known whether the second Earth could support living organisms
But the astonishing finding was not officially announced, sparking furious speculation that the second Earth has deliberately been kept a secret.
Now the ESO is set to finally reveal details of the planet at a press conference tomorrow and astronomers are also likely to discuss whether it has the potential to support life.
"The still nameless planet is believed to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance to Proxima Centauri that could allow it to have liquid water on its surface — an important requirement for the emergence of life," the source said.
"Never before have scientists discovered a second Earth that is so close by."
Read more: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1657498/secret-second-earth-that-could-be-home-to-aliens-will-be-exposed-tomorrow/
I saw that some days ago on a different forum, pointing to this source (http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a22438/rumored-exoplanet-closest-earth-like-planet/).
Interesting. :)
Life on one of the nearest stars? That would be massive news. Life is everywhere. :)
Wow ... this seems to have come out all of a sudden..
Would be quite remarkable if it proves to be an Earth like planet and so close...
They /we have sent several Probes out to planets in our Solar System.
Had they considered sending one towards the nearest star (other than our Sun)....even if they had not been aware of any possible planets close to it..
How soon could they send one to it....
Would that mean we need a craft to travel at the speed of light to reach there in 4 years ? I think so..
So What is the top speed of our present craft now ?
I don't think as yet we have a craft to make it within under 50 years...that we are led to believe...based on present technology they tell us about..
Need to check what the fastest present Space Craft like probe we have....and do some maths to work out how long it would take !!!
If this proves true.. it could be one of the best discoveries ever made...especially if they believe it may have similar conditions to Earth or maybe livable for our species...
Yes one may also wonder has it already got life and is it more advanced than us....maybe they have already come to visit us ....
Thought provoking indeed...!
This suggested one can travel at 157,000 Miles per hour...this was from a 2013 article.. maybe we can now go faster..
157,000 x 24 hrs = 3,768,000 miles in a day..
X 365 days in a year..
= 1,375,320,000 miles in one year...
1375 Million Miles in one year...
Speed of light = 186,000 miles per second..
X 60 = 11,160,000 miles per minute
X 60 = 669,600,000 miles per hour,
X 24 hrs = 16,070,400,000 miles per day..
X 365 days = 5,865,696,000,000 miles per year..
Im not sure I even can comprehend this number in terms of Millions of miles...
5,865,696 MILLION Miles in a year..when traveling at the speed of light
Verses 1375 million miles in a year of our fastest known space craft..
5,865,696 / 1375 = 4,265
At a Guess there is a difference of about 4,265 times more that the speed of light would travel in a year than our fastest spacecraft..
so we need to be able to increase our speed by a factor of 4,265 times more to be able to travel the same distance in one year as the speed of light could do...
does this mean to travel one light year it would take 4,265 years...
or 4 times that to reach a 4 light year distance..
about 17,060 years to travel 4 light years...
can anyone see if they may agree with these rough calculations...
I know its more like 4.2 light years..but I have calculated to the year..
Houston...I think we have a problem !!!
QuoteThe Helios probes hold the esteemed title of being the fastest satellites in space. They reached a fantastic 253,000 kilometers (157,000 miles) per hour as they raced around the Sun measuring the solar wind and environment near to the Sun.
https://www.spaceanswers.com/space-exploration/what-is-the-fastest-spacecraft-of-all-time/
This article is suggesting that there may be a spacecraft that can travel at 450,000 miles per hour in 2018....compared to the one I used in the above eg that was 157,000 Miles per hour..
so that would be nearly 3 times faster...
Maybe travel 4 light years in about 6000 years...
instead of 17,000
that is a huge difference within a few years of advancing the speed of our fastest Space craft..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/fastest-spacecraft-record-nasa-solar-probe-plus_n_2762918.html
QuoteWe likely will soon know the truth of this matter, but this report does make for an interesting read about another earth-like planet that is not so far away - only 4.2 light years. :)
NEW WORLD REVEALED 'Secret second Earth' that could be home to ALIENS will be exposed tomorrow
Astro, that is a lot of calculating. For less than exact needs, I simply just use 6 trillion miles as 1 light year. A thrust induced speed at that level seems almost unimaginable. If not wormholes for galactic travel, then maybe some sort of jump thrust to light speed + might just be the answer - a'la Star Trek - - "ENGAUGE"!! :)
Quote from: astr0144 on August 24, 2016, 02:22:06 AM
So What is the top speed of our present craft now ?
I think it only depends on how long it accelerates, longer acceleration periods resulting in higher speeds.
The problem, with the technology we know, is the amount of fuel needed to provide a very long acceleration (and deceleration, if they wanted the ship to stop at the end of the journey :) ).
But would you volunteer for a mission to Proxima Centuri if it was only one way?