3 ms·
Agree that would be very exciting. However, I think one has to consider maneuverability of the planet, effectively making into it a very large spaceship. It won
by sgt 6y ago
Agree that would be very exciting. However, I think one has to consider maneuverability of the planet, effectively making into it a very large spaceship. It won't exactly turn on a dime, but it's crucial to alter its heading in some way, at the very least to avoid getting caught up in the gravitational orbit of another star. I wonder about the energy requirements for something like that, while still having enough to make it a safe place to live with a magnetosphere etc.
- ncmncm 6y agoIt is generally quite difficult to get "caught" in orbit. You start out with enough energy to leave again. Big planets catch asteroids as moons only after millions of passes, generally involving interaction with another moon to steal some energy.
- Causality1 6y agoIf you can generate enough energy to move a planet you'd have a far easier time just making a starship big enough for your whole species. The entire biosphere of earth occupies the volume equivalent of the skin on an apple. Just accelerating earth to solar escape velocity would take 3E24 joules.