BassCliff
Hellcat
Hi,
From Dr. Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist I follow...
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The most widely held explanation for UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) not straightforwardly attributable to natural causes or man-made phenomena is the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH): material spacecrafts from planetary systems beyond the solar system. However, interstellar and interplanetary space is filled with dust. A collision with a single 0.1mm dust grain (at .01 of lightspeed) would be equivalent to 1 kilogram mass impacting at a velocity of 11,000 kilometers per hour, sufficient to destroy the most heavily shielded spacecraft. To avoid such collisions, the Breakthrough Starshot team calculated that the leading cross section of an interstellar spacecraft must have a surface area less than 0.09 square centimeters. Even then, several hundred such matchstick sized spacecraft must be sent to the nearest planetary system for there to be any survivors. Spacecraft that small will not be able to slow down. They can only achieve flyby missions. Bottom lines: The ETH is not viable. We will never be able to personally visit other planetary systems. Neither will extraterrestrial physical life, of any kind, from another planetary system be able to personally visit us.
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IOW, while interstellar travel is possible, it is so impractical as to be impossible. Voyager, the only spacecraft to have left our solar system, is traveling at ~60,000 km per hour. It would take 80,000 years to reach the nearest star. What about "folding space" to travel great distances in a short amount of time? Baylor University research found that it would require the mass of Jupiter converted to energy, every second, to power such an endeavor.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan and enjoy a good interstellar romp in movies and books. But the fact that we live in this physical universe puts a damper on any of that coming true, even if there are other beings in the cosmos.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
From Dr. Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist I follow...
-----------------
The most widely held explanation for UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) not straightforwardly attributable to natural causes or man-made phenomena is the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH): material spacecrafts from planetary systems beyond the solar system. However, interstellar and interplanetary space is filled with dust. A collision with a single 0.1mm dust grain (at .01 of lightspeed) would be equivalent to 1 kilogram mass impacting at a velocity of 11,000 kilometers per hour, sufficient to destroy the most heavily shielded spacecraft. To avoid such collisions, the Breakthrough Starshot team calculated that the leading cross section of an interstellar spacecraft must have a surface area less than 0.09 square centimeters. Even then, several hundred such matchstick sized spacecraft must be sent to the nearest planetary system for there to be any survivors. Spacecraft that small will not be able to slow down. They can only achieve flyby missions. Bottom lines: The ETH is not viable. We will never be able to personally visit other planetary systems. Neither will extraterrestrial physical life, of any kind, from another planetary system be able to personally visit us.
-----------------
IOW, while interstellar travel is possible, it is so impractical as to be impossible. Voyager, the only spacecraft to have left our solar system, is traveling at ~60,000 km per hour. It would take 80,000 years to reach the nearest star. What about "folding space" to travel great distances in a short amount of time? Baylor University research found that it would require the mass of Jupiter converted to energy, every second, to power such an endeavor.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan and enjoy a good interstellar romp in movies and books. But the fact that we live in this physical universe puts a damper on any of that coming true, even if there are other beings in the cosmos.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
! Or #2......they ARE a walking, talking pile of