4 ms·
A nice visualisation I like to use is this: if the orbit of the Earth was scaled down to the size of a coin, then the average distance between stars is about a
by jiggawatts 4y ago
A nice visualisation I like to use is this: if the orbit of the Earth was scaled down to the size of a coin, then the average distance between stars is about a mile.
EDIT: Corrected the maths.
- postalrat 4y agoAnd yet we pretty much have the technology right now to send a probe to Alpha Centauri. The Parker Solar Probe would make it there in about 8000 years. We could probably make a probe that makes it there in much less time if we wanted (by taking much longer to accelerate and de-accelerate). Then it just needs to survive a few thousand years dormant.
- moloch-hai 4y agoWe have had limited success at keeping a carved rock dormant and intact for thousands of years.
- abruzzi 4y agoNot interstellar, but I leave near Sunspot, New Mexico. Since lots of schools visit the sunspot observatory there they have a series of signs starting with Neptune at the beginning of the road (Highway 6563 for those interested) and ending with the sun at the observatory. The signs are spaced proportionally over the 15 mile road and it amazing how close mars -> sun all are compared to the rest, and that doesn't even deal with the rest proxima centauri (I'm curious where that would actually be, Colorado?)
- jiggawatts 4y agoIf my maths is right, then at that scale Proxima would be almost as far as the Moon: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=distance+to+proxima+centauri+%2F+%28radius+of+Neptune%27s+orbit+%2F+30km+%29 https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=distance+to+proxima+cen...