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Questions tagged [alpha-centauri]

A triple-star system and the closest stellar neighbor to our solar system

2 votes
1 answer
480 views

How is delta-v calculated for an interstellar journey?

Just recently I have been learning about orbital mechanics and I came across the following article: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/why-chemical-rockets-and-interstellar-travel-...
Aryaan's user avatar
  • 459
25 votes
5 answers
6k views

Is there any limit to how many times you can increase velocity by repeated sling shot manoeuvres?

I believe travelling to Alpha Centauri at ~10 km/s would take of the order of 100 000 years (10 km/s is the order of speed of probes currently leaving the solar system). That seems 1. rather a long ...
Raffles's user avatar
  • 385
3 votes
1 answer
241 views

Small probes to Alpha Centauri powered by light sails with a journey time of 20 years

This news item states that scientists have potentially devised a way to send a number of small probes to Alpha Centauri at quarter the speed of light. The journey would take 20 years and each small ...
Fred's user avatar
  • 13.1k
6 votes
3 answers
8k views

How long could it take us to reach Alpha Centauri with current technology?

I was searching somewhere on how far away the nearest star system was and what that system was. Am I correct in that it is Alpha Centauri at roughly 4.75ish lightyears? If so, a probe or ship or ...
Bob Johanson's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
175 views

Can light sails be stopped (after 20 years)? What will happen after the 20 years (after their journey)?

At that time will they be destroyed? Or can they come back? Or will we simply cut the laser power? And if we can make the size of the craft big enough so that a person can be on-board (without ...
Harry's user avatar
  • 55
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

How close humans are for interstellar travel? [duplicate]

I have heard many times about interstellar travels. Are centrifuge space craft (artificial gravity) and warp drives technologies being built or still it is just concepts ? Nearest start system is ...
Rahul Rabhadiya's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
329 views

Has Alpha Centauri been a subject for SETI activities?

There is a claim that habitable-zone orbits are stable around both components of the Alpha Centauri binary, and at least one planet has been detected (though not in the habitable zone). Both stars ...
Anthony X's user avatar
  • 17.6k