Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

BWhite · 2004-07-07 21:06:49

http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/Ateroid_alley.asp]Tau Ceti is 12 light years away and has an Earth-system like Sun (more or less) yet is filled with asteroids and comets.

But, if we humans have learned to mine asteroids and live in free floating plastic bubbles, Tau Ceti might be a perfect happy hunting ground for Main Belters looking for a new challenge.

Not now (obviously!!)

But in a few centuries? Why not?

Palomar · 2004-07-08 04:50:59

*My, my Bill...http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3207]aren't you the optimist?

Not now (obviously!!)

*What's this? A bit of foot dragging already? Tsk, tsk.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-08 05:35:06

If a few centuries is our timeframe, I'm not ready to give up on Earth-like planets orbiting G or K-type stars. If it turns out we can't be picky about the real estate, then Tau Ceti may have some potential.

Of course an Earth-like planet with a nearby cloud of asteroids isn't automatically out, depending on the available technology to deal with/exploit them.

Palomar · 2004-07-08 06:31:01

If a few centuries is our timeframe, I'm not ready to give up on Earth-like planets orbiting G or K-type stars. If it turns out we can't be picky about the real estate, then Tau Ceti may have some potential.
Of course an Earth-like planet with a nearby cloud of asteroids isn't automatically out, depending on the available technology to deal with/exploit them.

*I'm not giving up on it either; just being realistic.

Here's an idea: All the uber(would-be)terraformers who want to give our Solar System a radical makeover (smacking moons into planets, stripping Jupiter of its clouds, pushing Venus into our orbit -- opposite us, of course -- to "share" our balmy little region of the Solar System, on and on) could go to Tau Ceti. Put their energies to use in creating order out of disorder (and leaving THIS rather orderly Solar System pretty much alone).

Just a thought.

--Cindy

~Eternal~ · 2004-07-08 06:44:20

Please, surely Sol had more asteroids during its first billion years.

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-08 08:13:01

Here's an idea: All the uber(would-be)terraformers who want to give our Solar System a radical makeover (smacking moons into planets, stripping Jupiter of its clouds, pushing Venus into our orbit -- opposite us, of course -- to "share" our balmy little region of the Solar System, on and on) could go to Tau Ceti. Put their energies to use in creating order out of disorder (and leaving THIS rather orderly Solar System pretty much alone).

That sounds reasonable. We can play God with some other planetary system(s) until we get really good at it.

BWhite · 2004-07-08 08:16:49

Please, surely Sol had more asteroids during its first billion years.

A new "Prime Directive"

We cannot alter solar systems that might evolve life in the future.

Palomar · 2004-07-08 08:27:42

Please, surely Sol had more asteroids during its first billion years.
A new "Prime Directive"
We cannot alter solar systems that might evolve life in the future.

*Good point.

Apparently Cobra took me seriously. (Yes, my most previous post was written a bit "tongue-in-cheek")

Fa on you, Cobra Commander. Sexy though you are.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-08 11:17:08

A new "Prime Directive"
We cannot alter solar systems that might evolve life in the future.

Then we can't do anything.

The "Nays" have it.

Apparently Cobra took me seriously. (Yes, my most previous post was written a bit "tongue-in-cheek")

Well, the idea isn't devoid of merit. Blasting the clouds from Jupiter in a mad effort to terraform the rocky core that may or may not exist cannot stand for a multitide of reasons, some of them very practical concerns about seriously screwing with the stability of our solar system.

But getting brutal on some unnamed Jupiter-class planet around a distant star, that's another matter. Some of the objections remain, but others are effectively dispensed with.

Of course if we can travel to distant stars and blast atmospheres around, we can get the same outcome for much less effort.

:;):

C M Edwards · 2004-07-08 14:48:13

You mean you're not even going to name the poor lil' ol' Jupiter-class planet before you blow it to smithereens? ???

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-08 15:00:57

You mean you're not even going to name the poor lil' ol' Jupiter-class planet before you blow it to smithereens?

If we name it it's all over CNN, "Cobra Administration destroys Yavin" or some such thing. Don't name it and no one cares.

But it seems like an awful lot of work, unless terrestrial planets turn out to be exceedingly rare for some reason. :hm:

C M Edwards · 2004-07-08 15:34:12

True.

And you'd want to pick some dim little star, too. Preferably something not even visible to the naked eye.

"Save the Earth!" is too catchy a slogan for the opposition. You'll want to avoid that.

"Save Zilwickie 2359-8999 19!" sounds like more of an international phone number than a planet.

Shaun Barrett · 2004-07-09 06:51:59

Sorry to digress momentarily but, CM, I just love your signature: "All unattended children will be given two shots of espresso and a free puppy"!!!!

Chuckle-chuckle!! It's beautiful!

Rxke · 2004-07-09 08:19:41

Hmmm... And then Ueber-Space-Civilization 'X,' who's been keeping a wary eye on our first steps beyond our own solar-system, thinks we're on a rampage, destroying planets w/o any apparent reason... So they decide...
...?

We're doomed!

Cobra Commander · 2004-07-09 08:36:42

Hmmm... And then Ueber-Space-Civilization 'X,' who's been keeping a wary eye on our first steps beyond our own solar-system, thinks we're on a rampage, destroying planets w/o any apparent reason... So they decide...
...?

...To show us the way to live in harmony with nameless Jupiter-class planets and not destroy them when perfectly good moons and rocky planets are floating around nearby. And just to be safe, they name all the gas giants with catchy, single-syllable names that lend themselves to shouting mobs.

Mad Grad Student · 2004-07-09 19:30:17

Forget Tau Ceti, let's go http://solstation.com/stars2/18sco.htm]here! 18 Scorpii seems like the best place in the local area to try to find a twin of Earth, but at 45 light-years it's a bit of a trip. Charas]http://solstation.com/stars/chara.htm]Chara's closer, but a little bit older than the Sun and less likely to have nice planets. Still, this is the real goal of entering space, to be able to reach a place where you can put on a Hawaiian shirt and shorts (And nothing else) and go for a walk on the beach. To do that in a completely different star system is very profound, IMHO. Hopefully we can find an unspoiled one, ready for human use, without terraforming. The one thing that breaks my heart and gives me the heeby jeebies about this idea, though, is that we might spoil that lovely new planet. It all makes you wonder, where do we draw the line?

No matter how much I think about those things, though, I can't help but yearn to go for a walk around Chara or Scorpii.

MarsDog · 2004-07-10 15:50:44

Sol b?
In 1999, U.K. and U.S. astronomers independently reported finding evidence that one or more large planets or brown dwarfs gravitationally bound to the Sol may be perturbing the orbits of two different groups of long-period comets at the outer reaches of the Oort Cloud into the inner Solar System with the assistance of galactic tidal forces. The U.S. team (led by John J. Matese) estimated that the substellar object has a size of about three Jupiter masses and orbits Sol at 25,000 AUs in a wide band running through Constellation Cassiopeia and the the North Star, Polaris, (August 2000 update), while calculations by John B. Murray of the U.K. focus on a smaller region centered around Constellation Delphinus at an estimated distance of 32,000 AUs. Some astronomers believe that Matese and Murray are being misled by random statistical fluctuations or the past gravitational effects of passing stars. However, confirmation through direct observation by the upcoming, new generation of infrared telescopes such as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) may be feasible if the positions of the hypothesized objects can be adequately constrained.

We don't even know if Sol b exits, or how many planet sized, closeby,
objects there are.

Gennaro · 2004-07-12 06:04:36

This place is also pretty good and it's only 20 lightyears away:
http://solstation.com/stars/dpavonis.ht … avonis.htm

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#1 2004-07-07 21:06:49

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#2 2004-07-08 04:50:59

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#3 2004-07-08 05:35:06

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#4 2004-07-08 06:31:01

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#5 2004-07-08 06:44:20

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#6 2004-07-08 08:13:01

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#7 2004-07-08 08:16:49

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#8 2004-07-08 08:27:42

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#9 2004-07-08 11:17:08

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#10 2004-07-08 14:48:13

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#11 2004-07-08 15:00:57

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#12 2004-07-08 15:34:12

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#13 2004-07-09 06:51:59

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#14 2004-07-09 08:19:41

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#15 2004-07-09 08:36:42

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#16 2004-07-09 19:30:17

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#17 2004-07-10 15:50:44

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

#18 2004-07-12 06:04:36

Re: Settle Tau Ceti? - 12 light years isn't that far folks.

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