Inter-Galactic Deep Space Travel
By grandepagh
@grandepagh (6)
United States
March 6, 2011 1:52pm CST
So, I wonder, is inter-galactic deep space travel possible? For some definition on Deep Space travel copy and paste this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_space_exploration
The closest extra-solar planet is said to be 10.5 light years away. That is about 63 Trillion miles away! So let's see, man would have to travel for 10 and a half years at the speed of light to reach this planet! Is this possible for earth men to achieve? Does a higher power even want us to achieve this? I have my own views on this subject but I would like to know what you think. Let me know so that I may better understand.
1 response
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
6 Mar 11
Do you mean inter-stellar (travel between stars) or inter-galactic (travel between different galaxies)? It might be possible for us to build an interstellar spaceship that, travelling at sub-light speeds, might be able to reach some of the closer stars in 10 to 20 years of voyage time, but intergalactic travel is totally out of the question at sub-light speeds.
The closest galaxy is Andromeda. (disregarding the lesser and greater magellanic clouds which are relatively close to and are associated with our galaxy) Andromeda is about 1 million light years away, so at 50% of light speed it would take a ship 2 million years to reach even the edges of the Andromeda galaxy.
So without some major sort of technological breakthrough, inter-galactic, or indeed inter-stellar travel is not possible at our present technological level.
@whatrow (792)
• United States
6 Mar 11
Why would you want to go so far away? Is it worth paying $6 million dollars for a one-way ticket to a place that takes you 100 years to get to?
The best bet for tourism and colonization is the moon. But there is so much work to do to make that happen that it can never be completed in our lifetime.
But, think about something, since you are obviously interested in the subject. What about all of those UFO stories we hear. They can't ALL be hoaxes. If any of those stories have a grain of truth in them, if other beings are coming to us from an alien planet, then they have figured out how to transcend the time problem. Maybe someday we will figure it out. But, sadly, it won't happen anytime soon.
@grandepagh (6)
• United States
6 Mar 11
Thank You. You confirm my beliefs regarding this discussion. Obviously, it is difficult if not impossible for man to perform inter-galactic space travel. And as you mention, even interstellar travel may be very difficult if not impossible. I say that if you observe what is going on around you, you can learn a lot. For example, we don't see other beings zipping around the universe or zapping in and out of time warps. If it were possible and prevalent, we should see evidence of it. So, simple observation could answer this complicated question. So I'm thinking, why do the higher powers that be or just the unmistakable laws of the universe prevent us from such grand space travel?
@whatrow (792)
• United States
7 Mar 11
I think it is our ignorance that is stopping us. Many thousands of years ago, it was physically impossible to travel across the ocean. But, men kept trying. They took one step at a time. They kept experimenting and adding to their knowledge. This led to advances in technology. One step at a time and they DID IT.
Those difficulties parallel the problems we are having in space travel. And the solution is the same. I am not saying that space travel will never happen. But, there is so much work to do, that it could never be done in our lifetime. The important thing is to keep moving forward.
