4 ms·

Of course, even better strategy is to just sit at home and create a small fleet of drones that can use Sun's gravity as a lens to observe planet surfaces in nea

Of course, even better strategy is to just sit at home and create a small fleet of drones that can use Sun's gravity as a lens to observe planet surfaces in nearby stellar systems with resolution in kilometers per pixel. At least this could be accomplished within our lifetimes.

echelon 5y ago
Do you have any reference links? This sounds amazing.
- ben_w 5y ago
  Enjoy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_gravitational_lens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_gravitational_lens
  - lmilcin 5y ago
    The one downside is that you need multiple missions to observe just single target. The mission could potentially be modified to be good for more than one target but at the cost of length of the mission. The path of drones would have two intersect two points that need to be reached to observe two targets, but that would require most likely less hyperbolic (meaning slower) escape trajectory. The major benefit is that we don't need to invent anything new -- all required technology already exists. And the mission wouldn't even be that costly (at least in comparison). Just select the target, build (a dozen?) drones, shoot them on a right orbit into the Sun's gravity well and wait something like 20 years until they reach destination.
    - mkaic 5y ago
      Definitely seems like the kind of thing that would be made way more feasible with the advent of Starship bringing down launch costs 100x
  - mkaic 5y ago
    Holy cow, this is incredible. How have I not heard of this concept before?? Guess I'm one of today's lucky 10,000
    - lmilcin 5y ago
      10,000 only applies to a concept that reasonably is known to everybody or almost everybody before they die (like the fact mentos thrown into bottle of pepsi does funny things). I suspect that only very, very small number of people are aware of this mission profile:)
    - Archelaos 5y ago
      You perhaps spent too less time with HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22952348 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22952348
- ant6n 5y ago
  This has been talked about on centauri dreams lots of times. Example: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2020/12/10/developing-focal-mission-concepts/ https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2020/12/10/developing-focal-...
holoduke 5y ago
Not very easy. Focal point needs to be dynamic and is very far away. Also the receivers are complex and not just a piece of mirror. Doable yes, but extremely costly. James Webb is nothing compared to a sun telescope
- lmilcin 5y ago
  You compliment me by thinking it is my idea. No, it is not. It is actually being seriously worked on by Nasa. Also, they use the word "affordable". Now, in case if NASA this can mean practically anything, but there is chance it is not prohibitively expensive. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2020_Phase_I_Phase_II/Direct_Multipixel_Imaging_and_Spectroscopy_of_an_Exoplanet/ https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2020_Phase_...
  - tvhahn 5y ago
    This is awesome! Another reason to be bullish on SpaceX starship. Being able to send mass to space on the cheap opens up many new astronomical exploration avenues.

echelon 5y ago

Do you have any reference links? This sounds amazing.

ben_w 5y ago
Enjoy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_gravitational_lens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_gravitational_lens
- lmilcin 5y ago
  The one downside is that you need multiple missions to observe just single target. The mission could potentially be modified to be good for more than one target but at the cost of length of the mission. The path of drones would have two intersect two points that need to be reached to observe two targets, but that would require most likely less hyperbolic (meaning slower) escape trajectory. The major benefit is that we don't need to invent anything new -- all required technology already exists. And the mission wouldn't even be that costly (at least in comparison). Just select the target, build (a dozen?) drones, shoot them on a right orbit into the Sun's gravity well and wait something like 20 years until they reach destination.
  - mkaic 5y ago
    Definitely seems like the kind of thing that would be made way more feasible with the advent of Starship bringing down launch costs 100x
- mkaic 5y ago
  Holy cow, this is incredible. How have I not heard of this concept before?? Guess I'm one of today's lucky 10,000
  - lmilcin 5y ago
    10,000 only applies to a concept that reasonably is known to everybody or almost everybody before they die (like the fact mentos thrown into bottle of pepsi does funny things). I suspect that only very, very small number of people are aware of this mission profile:)
  - Archelaos 5y ago
    You perhaps spent too less time with HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22952348 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22952348
ant6n 5y ago
This has been talked about on centauri dreams lots of times. Example: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2020/12/10/developing-focal-mission-concepts/ https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2020/12/10/developing-focal-...

holoduke 5y ago

Not very easy. Focal point needs to be dynamic and is very far away. Also the receivers are complex and not just a piece of mirror. Doable yes, but extremely costly. James Webb is nothing compared to a sun telescope

lmilcin 5y ago
You compliment me by thinking it is my idea. No, it is not. It is actually being seriously worked on by Nasa. Also, they use the word "affordable". Now, in case if NASA this can mean practically anything, but there is chance it is not prohibitively expensive. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2020_Phase_I_Phase_II/Direct_Multipixel_Imaging_and_Spectroscopy_of_an_Exoplanet/ https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2020_Phase_...
- tvhahn 5y ago
  This is awesome! Another reason to be bullish on SpaceX starship. Being able to send mass to space on the cheap opens up many new astronomical exploration avenues.