Space travel

Good analogy and if you take into account that it is possible that there are other intelligent life forms that might already have started their own journeys between the stars many thousands of millennia ago (if not hundreds of thousands) there is always the possibility that one such vessel might be headed in our direction. Granted that possibility is on the far remote end of the scale but it is greater than zero IMO.

We might be "colonized" long before we are capable of traveling between the stars.

 

There are highly impressive cases. For example
http://nicap.org/reports/760919routing_slip_ufo_iran.pdf

I have downloaded the original report from the NSA myself. I have also seen interviews with both pilots and the General involved. And keep in mind that back then, the Iranian AF was an arm of the US military. That's why US intelligence officers were there. There are a number of cases like this that really raise an eyebrow.

So when Fermi asked, "Where are they?" Perhaps his answer should have been, they've already been here. And if they can get here. Eventually we can get there.

I used to joke with a friend that based on the odds, if I look at the night sky wondering who might be out there, it is statistically likely that some alien is looking back and wondering about me. So when you look at the night sky, be sure to wave.

 

This is a scholarly paper that addresses the potential for ET visitations. It was published in a highly respected journal - The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society [JBIS]. Not by chance I know/knew two of the authors [One has passed away]: An Atmospheric Scientist, Optical Physicist, an Astrophysicist, and an Electrical Engineer, all Ph.Ds.

Inflation-theory Implications for Extraterrestrial Visitations

Abstract
It has recently been argued that anthropic reasoning applied to inflation theory reinforces the prediction that
we should find ourselves part of a large, galaxy-sized civilisation, thus strengthening Fermi’s paradox concerning “Where are they?” Furthermore, superstring and M-brane theory allow for the possibility of parallel universes, some of which in principle could be habitable. In addition, discussion of such exotic transport concepts as “traversable wormholes” now appears in the rigorous physics literature. As a result, the “We are alone” solution to Fermi’s paradox, based on the constraints of earlier 20th century viewpoints, appears today to be inconsistent with new developments in our best current physics and astrophysics theories. Therefore we reexamine and reevaluate the present assumption that extraterrestrials or their probes are not in the vicinity of Earth, and argue instead that some evidence of their presence might be found in certain high-quality UFO reports. This study follows up on previous arguments that (1) interstellar travel for advanced civilizations is not a priori ruled out by physical principles and therefore may be practicable, and (2) such advanced civilisations may value the search for knowledge from uncontaminated species more than direct, interspecies communication, thereby accounting for apparent covertness regarding their presence.

For the entire paper
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ELriZXHDI0ZlYdvJm_aNvbHg5u-2XIIw

 

J Allen Hynek, an accomplished Astrophysicist who finally landed as the chairman of the Dept of Astronomy, at Northwestern U, was also contracted by the government to debunk UFO reports, back in the 1960s. He was the one who came up with the infamous swamp gas explanation, for certain UFO reports. But he became a total convert and the so-called father of ufology. He was a highly respected scientist who took the subject very seriously. And he was the first of note to treat the subject scientifically.

Near the end of his life, he had become convinced that at least in some cases, we aren't dealing with space travelers in the conventional sense, rather something more like trans-dimensional travelers. This is based on his many years of fact finding, and considerations on the nature of the observations. This would be consistent with the notion of travelers from parallel universes, which could exist only a millimeter away from us. Also, not only does M-brain theory allow for such possibilities, but also the extreme interpretation of The Many Worlds Theory, which suggests there could be an infinite number of parallel universes.

With this, the notion of space travel takes on an entirely new meaning. We might find ourselves asking which universe to explore! And it might even be easier to travel trans-dimensionally, than to reach the most distant regions of our own galaxy. If Hynek was right, the evidence would suggest it. And it makes sense in it's own way, given that these parallel universes could be only a millimeter away!

 

What puzzles me - actually it worries me - is not only the focus on a planet which we'll never be able to live on, but the inexplicable mass interest in the venture even if we could get there. Why the hell is NASA spending vast sums of US tax dollars at a time when the US has a £22tr national debt, to drill an effing hole to find out what's underneath the Martian crust? And at the risk of repeating myself, if anybody actually believes it they'll believe anything! But out of curiosity, does anyone else have a view on it?

 

Kindly share the source/s for your claim of "NASA spending vast sums of US tax dollars";
unless you prefer to merely express an opinion.

 

It's all about a grab for mineral resources/potential wealth, just old news in a new direction.

NASA and the CIA are also said to be putting a lot of attention on mysterious archeologic sites on our planet and making sure outsiders don't have equal access. There must be some chance of discovering unusual info that they don't want exposed to us or other governments.

It appears that our secret black project organization has built triangular UFOs that have near-total gravity negation within. Bombarding element 115 does the trick. A twist on Occam's razor says it's easy if you know how.

Accomplishing monumental achievements can't be as far out of reach as it seems. A little man from Latvia moved heavy tonnage inexplicably by himself at Choral Castle, Florida.

 

As tempting as it is to view the amazing park through a veil of mystery, in fact we know how the castle was built. Creating a structure like the Coral Castle today could probably be accomplished in a few months with a construction crew and modern machinery. But Leedskalnin worked alone using basic tools like picks, winches, ropes and pulleys. Leedskalnin himself said that that he did it using hard work and the principles of leverage. The tools he used to quarry the rock are on display at the Coral Castle, and several old photos depict the large tripods, pulleys, and winches he used to move the blocks. Though the quarried stone slabs are large, they are actually lighter than they appear because the rock is porous.

Though Leedskalnin worked alone, he was not a reclusive hermit; he had friends who he saw often. One man, Orval Irwin, was not only a long-time friend of Leedskalnin's but also a building contractor with a deep knowledge of construction techniques. Irwin wrote a 1996 book with the inspiring title "Mr. Can't Is Dead! The Story of the Coral Castle," and in it he explains, through photographs, drawings, and schematics, how it was done.
https://www.livescience.com/41075-coral-castle.html

 

It's cool to think about.

I think just going "there" would be somewhat meaningless unless you could actually gather a WHOLE lot of info on that other universe before going.

For starters, it would be interesting to know what the laws of physics are "over there".

 

Indeed, it opens universes of possibilities! It is amazing to imagine that such a reality, or realities, could actually exist!!!

PS. M-Brane, not M-Brain. Apparently my brane's not working well these days.

Hynek was hired as a consultant by Steven Spielberg for the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hynek was the first to classify encounters as the first, second, and third kind. A number of scenes, like the police chase, were very loosely based on real incidents. Hynek makes a brief cameo appearance in the final scene, when the mother ship comes down on Devil's Tower.

 

Maybe not manned, but I've read from a few sources that this could be built very soon.
https://www.space.com/32546-interstellar-spaceflight-stephen-hawking-project-starshot.html

 

Even that shows the incredible difficulty posed by space distances.

The proposed "starshot" would need to go 20% of that speed, that is a little more than 134 million mph.

The current fastest satellite (the Juno probe) travels at 165,000 mph.

To send the Juno probe instead of the starshot (which is like a chip with wings) on the same schedule would require the Juno probe to go 800 times faster.

If it only went 100X faster, it would take 160 years. etc.

Plus, the planet of that nearest star appears to be awash in massive radiation. And, the next nearest observed planet is two and a half times as far.

 

Just for kicks, I ran some rough numbers to estimate the energy cost of propelling the craft. Assuming a 100 Kg craft being propelled for 10 years, to a maximum speed of 0.2C [20% of the speed of light], I show a constant demand of about 2000 watts effective. This must include the coupling coefficient between the LASER and the sail, and the efficiency of the LASER. Just to be fair I was being generous and assumed 10% efficiency at the LASER and a coupling efficiency of 50%. That isn't realistic but at least puts us within an order of magnitude or two.

With this, I show we need about 40 KW for 87,600 hours, or 3.5 million KWHrs. At 20 cents per KWHrs, we get $700.000. So, not bad! It is probably closer to $70 million but I thought it would be a lot worse. The coupling coefficient and the mass are likely far less favorable than I allowed for here, but still it isn't astronomical.

 

Using the same numbers, it would take about 350 times as much energy - 1.2 Billion KWHrs - to get to 99% of C

It would take about 1100 times the energy to get to 0.999C

 

The tripods were said to be incapable of lifting the heavy stones. Some of the stones weighed about 20 or 30 tons. The porousness had no bearing on the actual weights cited. Photographs? Supposedly no one witnessed
how he did it.

 

two other obstacles to space travel that I doon't see mentioned
1-in regards to to travel time/speed ...even if we could travel at the speed of light a planet 10 light years away would take far longer than ten light years, acceleration and deceleration to and from light speed would need to be very gradual if you don't to splatter the voyagers on the inside of the space ship walls...and hitting absolutely anything at that speed like a micro meteorite would destroy the ship
2-the planet we intend to inhabit would need a gravity equal or less than earths, anything more than what we've evolved to live with would kill us in a very short time.

 

By whom were they said to be incapable?
Please post the source/s for your claims regarding Coral Castle.

 

Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. Archimedes

it's all too common that when someone doesn't grasp the science involved then they proceed to deny the outcome..." I don't understand how it can be so therefore it isn't possible"

 

The Egyptians built massive structures using levers and ramps and many people and animals pulling.

 

You obviously understand very little if anything, a self healing hull, can allow a small meteorite, the size of a baseball to pass through, a space ship, Drednaught or Galaxy class, and with bulkheads and structural integrity, with minimal damage.

As well as intertial dampers etc.....

It would still kill anyone it hit passing through the ship, but it would not likely destroy it, and as a ship would have sections that are sealed off, even contamination or radiation, would be confined to the sections the projectile / meteorite, passed through.

 

I probably have a book somewhere, but I'll have to attribute the notion to memory of whatever source I encountered, and leave it at that.

 

Well, there are things besides hulls and humans involved in a manned space craft.

I know my lap top functions better without a baseball sized hole in it. Given the temp of space you might want your heater to work. Food. etc.

 

its a pipe dream, but its good to think we can try. Even at light speed the distances are far too great. We dont need engines we need tele transportation.