How Long To Travel to The Closest Exoplanet Proxima Centauri b? | Exoplanet Radio ep 16

Throughout the course of this podcast, we’ve established the idea that there are a lot of exoplanets in our universe. Some are big, some are small, some are close to their stars, others are very far away. One thing we haven’t said much about though is just how far away they all are.

Many people feel that it’s very important for humanity’s long term survival that we become a multiplanet species. Traveling to and possibly even inhabiting other planets in our solar system is not only possible with our current levels of technology, but compared to going to the stars, it’s downright easy.

But what about traveling to exoplanets? Can we reach the stars?

Join the chat on Discord here:

[DaleNuelle]

It will take many Generations of Humans to reach Prox b.

With our current fastest rockets, it would take approximately 75, 000 years to zip to Proxima b, the closest exoplanet to Earth.

[DavidStJames]

I’ve loved your videos over the years. Keep up the great work!✌️

[folcwinep.pywackett]

Excellent PODcast. Unless new physics is discovered, or Human Life spans greatly increased, we aint going interstellar anytime soon.

[kevanhubbard]

I don't think that any of the 5 human made interstellar objects; Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2 and New Horizons are aimed at Proxima Centauri besides even if they were they wouldn't work by the time they arrived! Considering we can't even get humans to Mars, not that it has much more to tempt them, the chances of getting to Proxima are zero.

[geemanbmw]

Natures quarantine smh! Thanks T, another great podcast with a few bonus video 👍🏼

[FirsteMann]

In other words, nobody's going anywhere

[usa-]

If we can get nuclear propulsion operational without any politics getting in the way we could sail the solar system in a spacecraft like the Hermes or Discovery!

[Christian-gcnn]

At 10% of the speed of light and 4.3 light years wouldn't it take slightly shorter then 43 years to reach that distance due to time dilation? About 42.7 if my calculations are not wrong?

[bigJovialJon]

Giving the speeds you're talking about, I'm thinking there would be some time dilation.
Are the numbers you mentioned earth times or ship times?

[gaminglordsidious]

Which song by Geodesium is playing during your Exoplanet Radio series?

[cazz]

Humans will destroy each other first. Or Ai

[sentientflower]

There's an error in your math: if you want to merely accomplish a flyby of Proxima Centauri you can go 10% light speed, 1% light speed, .06% light speed ... But if you want to visit a planet in orbit around Proxima Centauri you must travel a whole lot slower than that, and even if you merely want to attain orbit around Proxima Centauri you have to travel slower than the Voyager probes (since they are at escape velocity from the sun they are moving to fast).

So on your trip to Proxima Centauri you can travel interstellar speed at whatever speed you wish but once you get there you need to slow down to orbital insertion velocity (with your initial orbit of the star between 50, 000 - 100, 000 years) and then you need to slow down again to visit the inner solar system (this will take several orbits, might take a lot of orbits), and given that you want to visit a small planet close to a red dwarf you may never attain orbit around a Habitable planet (the math at this point would exhaust a supercomputer).

[CarbonElixr]

The speed of light is a fraction of the speeds the conscious of the universes beings can travel. Use the mind. There is no material in the universe you can make a vehicle out of that could stand the speed of light. Conciousness can transverse millions or billions or trillions of light years in a matter of seconds or at slowest, a little over one Earth minute. Qauntum placement can transverse space time and is the only possible way to travel such distance.

[DaxLLM]

I have a question, what would the speed of a spaceship be when time dilation would kick in?

[dlutkins]

So, you say that New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft we have built and is going ~58, 000 kilometers per hour. Then you say that Voyager 1 is going, currently, at ~61, 000 kilometers per hour. How does this reconcile? Is this because Voyager 1 is in interstellar space and unaffected by gravity, so it's momentum is allowing its speed to increase, or that its speed increased due to things like planetary flybys (gravity assist) while it was still in our solar system? Didn't New Horizons get a speed boost through planetary flybys as well? Thanks, Tony.

[mymy]

you ignore momentum..which requires you start deceleration at the midpoint..just think this will remain in realm of sci fi movies

[dhirajtaneja]

Humans need to reach Much much High Speeds to reach any Other Solar System