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I really don't think you are. Without looking it up: how far away is Proxima Centauri and how long do you think it'd take to reach it given our current propulsi
by llamaimperative 2y ago
I really don't think you are. Without looking it up: how far away is Proxima Centauri and how long do you think it'd take to reach it given our current propulsion technology?
Obviously propulsion will continue to get better and better, but it's a good way to anchor oneself back to technical reality.
What's your gut feeling on how long it'd take to reach our nearest neighbor if we were to travel at the top speed of the fastest spacecraft we've ever made?
- Vegenoid 2y agoI don't know the answers to these questions confidently without looking them up, and if you think that means my opinion isn't worth much then so be it. I have no influence on space exploration beyond being a voting US citizen if it makes you feel better. I believe that Proxima Centauri is ~10 light years away, and that it would take tens of millions of years to travel that distance based on current propulsion. Looks like I wasn't wildly off. I still think that putting humans in space is a worthwhile endeavor, and that the amount we spend on it relative to many other things is not disproportionately high.
- shkkmo 2y agoThis isn't an appropriate rhetorical technique. For HN. If you want to make a point about the size of space, make it without demeaning the intelligence and understanding of the people you are talking to.