How long will it take us to reach Proxima Centauri?
If we were to go by an F1 car, it would take us approximately 25.600.000
million years - stops included!
If we managed to leave on a rocket, at the constant speed of 25 mph (11,2 km/s) - the
speed needed to escape the Earth’s gravity - we would be there in something like
113.730 years. Even with the fastest speed ever
reached by a human-made spacecraft - 364,620 mph (163 km/s) - achieved by the Solar Parker Probe at
perihelion, our trip will take a really long time: about 7815 years.
These are all gross approximations, but reaching Proxima Centauri would not only be a
matter of time: even if you are in space, and there’s so much out there to be seen,
boredom would probably kick in sooner than you expected, and you will find yourself in a
metal cabin with always the same people, always the same faces. It would be really hard
to reach Proxima Centauri: from a mental, logistic and physical point of view.
Come join us and watch this amazing video to learn how long it would take us and
what's the best way to reach Proxima Centauri. You will also find out what we
could find once we get there. (roll intro)
====== Proxima
Centauri is the closest star to Earth, and it was discovered in 1915,
almost 108 years ago.
It is actually one of three known stars in the Alpha Centauri system, with the other two
stars being Alpha Centauri A and B. Formerly, before this announcement, astronomers
believed that Alpha Centauri was the closest star to our solar system.
This is a red dwarf, probably the most common stellar type in the Milky Way: dim and
relatively cold. It has a little more than the age of the Sun (about 4.8 billion years) but a
diameter that is only 15% of that of the Sun and a surface temperature of
"only" about 2725 degrees Celsius
(against the 5725 degrees Celsius of our star ). The star lies about 25.6 trillion miles away.
This means that it would take an immense amount of time to reach it. Even if traveling
at the speed of light, it will take us a long time to go there: 4.244 years to reach.
In reality, traveling at the speed of light is impossible, as the speed of light is something
that we can only approach, not become. And it would require immense amounts of fuel
and energy, something that is not feasible at this current time.
Anyway, now try to follow me with this: we know that Proxima Centauri’s position in the
universe changes with time, just like the Sun moves along with other stars, around the
center of our Galaxy. How do we know how much the position of
a star is changing? The answer is proper motion.
Proper motion is the motion of stars relative to the observer on Earth. It can be
visualized as the movement of a star across the night sky. For example, Proxima
Centauri is moving at an estimated 3.8 arcseconds per year. This means that if you look
at Proxima Centauri through a telescope, it will appear to move every year as seen from
Earth. Another example would be Sirius, the brightest
star in the night sky. It is moving at a rate of 2.17 arcseconds per year.
So, the stars in our galaxy are constantly moving and Proxima Centauri is no exception;
this means that by the time we reach it, its position would have changed, also changing
the required time to reach it with our fastest spacecraft.
By the way, here’s an interesting thing linked to the proper motion of Proxima Centauri.
Because it is the closest star to our Sun, its angular motion across the sky is relatively
fast compared to far more distant background stars. In 2014 and 2016 Proxima Centauri
passed in front of two background stars that are along its path.
This afforded astronomers a rare opportunity to study the warping of space by Proxima's
gravity. This effect is called gravitational lensing. The amount of warping could be used
to calculate a precise mass for Proxima Centauri, and look for the gravitational footprint
and any exoplanets orbiting the star. Unluckily for scientists, they didn’t have the chance
to observe any exoplanet, because the odds of it happening were really small. But in
2016, the discovery of Proxima b planet was announced by the radial velocity method. It
is a probably rocky planet whose recently reassessed minimum mass may be as little as
1.17 Earth masses. Although Proxima b is about 20 times closer to its star than Earth is
to the Sun, it receives comparable energy. This means that the surface temperature
could favor the presence of liquid water (if there is any) and support
the development of life.
At the moment, 3 planets are known to orbit around Proxima Centauri. This is really
important for us because any conceived mission to reach the star would also likely imply
the first close study of an exoplanet! Isn’t it amazing?
Anyway. We understand that it’s impossible for one single person to leave the Earth and
reach this star in the arch of a lifetime. Some crazy studies tried to find out what’s the
smallest crew that could maintain a genetically healthy population over such time
frames. To reach and potentially settle the
star, a crew of humans would need to complete a 6300-year journey - this is the estimated amount
of time needed to reach the star with our current technology.
Researchers Frédéric Marin and Camille Beluffi determined that at least 98 settlers, or
49 breeding pairs, is necessary to maintain a genetically healthy population over this
lengthy journey. The minimum crew size might change depending on fertility rates in
deep space, potential mutational effects from radiation, and other social factors. Such a
mission would be a daunting challenge but has the potential to unlock humanity's ability
to explore and colonize the rest of the universe. So the question is…are we able to
conceive and build a spacecraft capable of hosting generations of humans? Some
proponents of interstellar travel recommend sending spacecraft that are essentially
miniaturized worlds that can accommodate travelers for centuries or longer. These are
called “generation spaceships”. The logic behind a generation ship is simple:
if you can’t travel fast enough to get to another star system within a single lifetime,
build a vessel large enough to carry everything you would possibly need for a
long voyage. This would entail making sure that a ship has a reliable propulsion
system that can provide steady thrust during acceleration and deceleration and the necessary
amenities to provide for several generations of humans.
As we are far from building a successful “generation spaceship”, unmanned interstellar
travel could become a reality in our lifetime. A team of scientists from the Australian
National University (ANU) has designed an array of lasers that will help propel a fleet of
tiny spacecraft, known as "nanoprobes," to the distant star system Alpha Centauri,
where Proxima Centauri is also located. This kind of spacecraft makes use of the
famous “solar sail” propulsion system. The laser array will be made up of millions of
lasers positioned on Earth's surface and generate 100 gigawatts of power.
Using photon propulsion, a journey to Alpha Centauri would take between 20 to 30
years, compared to 100 generations if we were to use a traditional propulsion system.
ANU is already working on building the basic building blocks in a laboratory environment
and the journey could be ready by 2036, with alpha Centauri in our sights by 2060.
This is part of the so-called Breakthrough Starshot project.
It is an ambitious mission that could bring us closer to unlocking the mysteries of our
universe. Who knows, we might even get a glimpse of the potentially habitable planet
Proxima b. So, here's to hoping that the ANU team can make interstellar travel a reality!
If you want, you can find more information about solar sail at the link below: (TO
THE VIDEOMAKER: ADD LINK TO THE VIDEO about solar sail).
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But what if we discovered a way to travel at the speed of light? Enter the Alcubierre
Warp Drive. The Alcubierre Warp Drive is a hypothetical
tool that has been theorized in the science of theoretical physics. It would be capable
of propelling us to the stars in a matter of days and could make interstellar travel a reality.
Based on the concept of a warp field, the Alcubierre Warp Drive works by distorting the
fabric of space-time using a propulsion system that would be able to travel faster than
the speed of light. When activated, an Alcubierre Warp
Drive would create a bolt of energy that encircles the spacecraft. This bolt would cause space-time
to expand in the front of the ship, while contracting in the rear, creating a “bow wave”.
This would serve as a cushion, effectively allowing the ship to move faster than the speed
of light without breaking any physical laws.
Theoretically, an Alcubierre Warp Drive would be able to travel to Proxima Centauri in a
matter of days. But in reality, this technology is still in its infancy. Scientists still have to
figure out how to generate enough energy to be able to create and sustain a warp field.
Despite this, the idea of an Alcubierre Warp Drive has gained traction in recent years,
with scientists around the world attempting to figure out a way to make this technology a
reality. If scientists ever manage to unlock the secrets of the Alcubierre Warp Drive, it
would revolutionize the way we travel and explore the universe and would bring us a
step closer to our dream of reaching the stars. So, to recap, given our current technology,
it would be impossible for us to travel to Proxima Centauri. To make this journey possible,
scientists would need to find a way to move almost at the speed of light and
develop a technology to combat the effects of interstellar travel. Until this happens, it could
take us hundreds of thousands of years to reach the closest star!
Hey! This video ends here! Thank you for watching! Do you think we will ever
reach Proxima Centauri, or not? Let us know in the comments below! I’ll see you
next time on the channel.