Rigil Kentaurus & the Age of Discovery

[DYNAMICS]

Also known as "Alpha Centauri", is a star system 4.23 light years away from Earth and is said to contain earth like planets. With recent revelations that there might be Earth like planet further away (60-100 light years), it stands to reason that Rigil Kentaurus is the closet solar system we have, and so our best chance of getting into deep space.

Do you think it's time we started another age of discovery, but this time focused on Space exploration, much like the land explorations of the 17th to 19th century. If you look back to the first age of discovery, with the pilgrims leaving Europe to flee tyrannical rule you will find similar conditions exist today here on Earth for a second age of discovery. Banking elites, corporate interests above the well being of the citizen, the rich get richer the poor get poor..ect From the lessons of history we can see that what initiated for people to build better and better ships to cross the Atlantic Ocean, was the need to escape the grip of "the divine right of Kings" so to speak, and the underling poverty of the common man.

Conditions here on Earth are not getting any better, and people may have to look to the stars, much like the pilgrims looked across the ocean to rebuild their lives or a new civilization. Of course we don't have any ships that can travel faster than light, but are we going to see a new trend where people finally say enough is enough and start to move towards building better space ships than NASA? At one point ship building was done by the state then it moved over to individuals building ships for other people, like a group of investors. I see sometime in the future more people start to build smaller space ships and indeed better engines than NASA, finally traveling at the speed of light.

What do you guys think, are we poised to have another age of discovery?

Leave a comment,

regards,

Dynamics

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

So...who pays?

 

[Zelig]

Conditions here on Earth are not getting any better

Yes, they are.

 

[Maimonides]

I'd like to say "let's go," but 4.23 LIGHT YEARS is really far.

 

[Bill3000]

Also known as "Alpha Centauri", is a star system 4.23 light years away from Earth and is said to contain earth like planets.

Wait, what? Since when, outside of fiction?

It's certainly the first target for an interstellar unmanned mission, though.

 

[Greizer85]

Yes... Space ships and wooden ships have a bit different prize ranges, and it's one thing to learn how to sail in your local waters, and another to learn how to be a space pilot... However if it will be done (by governments most likely ofc), then I'll be the first to enlist. Assuming they take other people than trained astronauts ofc. To discover another planet... What could be more exciting?

 

[GoodGame]

My opinion is there's lots of cool stuff in Sol system to explore and colonize first. And putting out a need to vacate Earth as a stimulus to leave for AC seems a bit of strawman. SMAC's story by Brian Reynolds is closer to a probable reality imho. Deporting large amounts of Earth's population for, at best, sleeper ships, doesn't seem like a possible solution; If anything, I'd be suspicious of it being some sort of cover-story for the disappearance and maltreatment of citizens.

A manifest destiny, or second chance escape attempt would be more of a practical reason for piling a town's worth of people in a sleeper ship for another planetary system.

And AFAIK, the Puritans were offered a chance to leave because their religious faiths had diverged from the state religious practice, but not so much as vile papists. /sarcasm.

 

[cardgame]

AFAIK it's "Alpha Centauri", period, not Rigil Kentarus.

Anyway, we don't even know if there are Earth-like planets in AC, so let's not do anything 'til then... mk?

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

AFAIK it's "Alpha Centauri", period, not Rigil Kentarus.

Anyway, we don't even know if there are Earth-like planets in AC, so let's not do anything 'til then... mk?

Astronomers use multiple names for the same stars. If you use celestia (provided in my signature), you'll know what I'm talking about.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

If anything, I'd be suspicious of it being some sort of cover-story for the disappearance and maltreatment of citizens.

You just made the thought of interstellar travel horrifying to me.

 

[Rashiminos]

The historical reasons for exploration tended to be economic before they were political. You have to convince someone that the uses of such a vast amount of resources will ultimately be productive, whether it's gold, plantation cash crops, or minerals from distant planets and possibly asteroids.

 

[DYNAMICS]

AFAIK it's "Alpha Centauri", period, not Rigil Kentarus.

The Muslims were the first to discover it's existents, Astronomers today sometimes refer to it as Rigil Kentaurus (it's original name) and not Alpha centauri as some are lend to believe.

...I digress...back to the original post please.

To tackle the problem of money, private investors would be the most likely route, just to start the first few experiments off first, and then build start building ships. I know Richard Brandson is looking into the idea with his with Virgin Atlantic commercial airliner company.

 

[GoodGame]

Apparently they'll be using Spaceship One as a model. That stuff rocks. Still I think you're dreaming that pragmatist investors are looking towards Alpha Centauri or that we are are the cusp of a golden age for such. Private investment concerns towards utilizing the Sol system is far more likely.

 

[Cutlass]

I've never seen any evidence that Alpha Centauri has earth like planets. Just a theory that it could, because it is a very Sol like star.

That said, if it proved that it did have a habitable planet, we are still decades at least from the ability to go there.

Which brings us back to "who pays"? There would be very little benefit for the people left behind to send at most a few thousand people out there. So they would have to pay for themselves. And no group of 10k people could afford that.

 

[Formaldehyde]

We have the Apollo Program great wonder, so this should be a piece of cake to win.

 

[aelf]

I think we're too inward-looking now. And in the meantime capitalism continues to ravage society and the environment, so we might be digging a hole for ourselves.

Maybe we need a Golden Path?

 

[warpus]

We haven't even made it to Mars yet! There's no use looking to Alpha Centauri yet.

 

[Leonel]

The thing is it didn't take 10 years to cross the Atlantic.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Much less 2000 years (assuming we can go 36K mph)...

 

[Masada]

Maybe we need a Golden Path?

Dachs for God Emperor? I'll be Duncan... and well Princess you can be Paul?