Can We Travel To That Exciting New Exoplanet? 662
An anonymous reader writes "The news last week that exoplanet Gliese 581g may be in the 'Goldilocks zone' and could therefore hold liquid water and alien life got everyone all excited, with good reason. A potentially habitable planet — and only 20 light years away! But to put things in perspective, here are a couple of estimates on what it would take to travel to Gliese 581g. One scientist puts the travel time at 180,000 years based on current space flight technology, while another explains that it could be quite quick if we build a matter-antimatter drive, and can figure out how to bring along 530 times as much mass in fuel as is contained in the ship and cargo itself."
Nuclear pulse propulsion (Score:3, Funny)
I'd like a second opinion... (Score:4, Funny)
How long would it take at warp 6, Ensign Chekov?
I know how to get there! (Score:5, Funny)
Just convince some corporation that it has unobtainium.
Re:Takes my breath away! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:the question is why ? (Score:2, Funny)
may be there are far far away, with there babbys
Re:Reality check (Score:5, Funny)
Short version: "Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."
Re:Takes my breath away! (Score:5, Funny)
You were lucky. We had to cobble a planet together out of dust in an protoplanetary disk!
Re:Laughable (Score:1, Funny)
I would like to volunteer my ex-wife for service aboard one of your algae-ships.
Re:Radio (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You are correct, but (Score:5, Funny)
Probably the best bet is to copy it from visiting aliens, if any ever bother to visit.
Meanwhile in a neighboring star system,
"Probably the best bet is to copy it from visiting aliens, if any ever bother to visit."
Re:Overly pedantic (Score:4, Funny)
Man invented the horse?
Re:180,000 years (Score:5, Funny)
Assuming it takes 100 years to build everything we need to make this flight, by the time you get there it will be 178,570 years after the group that took 1000 years to build the matter/antimatter ship finished their project.
This is what I see happening: The first colony ships will leave for a newly-found planet using then-state-of-the-art technology and when they arrive the first thing they'll see is a McDonald's putting up a sign advertising their new "Colonist Combo Meal Deal".
Re:Overly pedantic (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Reality check (Score:5, Funny)
Oops, you're right.
Here lies PoopFace. Died of starvation out past the Oort cloud.
Re:Overly pedantic (Score:5, Funny)
(he means Researched the Horseback Riding technology after Animal Husbandry)
Re:I never said it would be soon (Score:3, Funny)
What an odd way of saying "my ignorance allows for a greater degree of wishful thinking".
Re:I know how to get there! (Score:2, Funny)
or convince a big religion that there's Holy Land there.
Re:180,000 years (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You are correct, but (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, the neighboring star system went:
"Before setting off to that place, make sure all the patents are current, and don't forget the DRM!"
Re:Radio (Score:5, Funny)
I had a bad dream that I stayed in shape by eating boring food, exercising my tail off, skipping slashdot to go outdoors in order to live that long, only to have the reply be: "STFU!"
Re:180,000 years (Score:3, Funny)
I wish I had mod points... parent is relatively correct..