4 ms·
>I think if we ever see an alien, he will either fly to us in a completely enormous nuclear rocket which we will spot years before his arrival and deceleration
by TearsInTheRain 7y ago
>I think if we ever see an alien, he will either fly to us in a completely enormous nuclear rocket which we will spot years before his arrival and deceleration .
We have a tough time detecting asteroids until they've already flown by, I have a hard time believing we would spot a ship years in advance
- xenophonf 7y agoThe drive plume will be bright and hot and aimed right at us. Somebody running an all-sky radio survey will spot it, eventually. It will take a long time to decelerate, years if not decades even if it's only cruising at a small fraction of c. (Project Daedalus would have cruised at 0.12 c.)