To be fair, Dusty, it's very difficult to prove a negative (even where belief is not involved).
dustinzgirl ~Prove it.
And where do you have your cosmology degree from? Or astronomy degree? Physics degree?
Hawking says: “As far as we are concerned, events before the big bang can have no consequences and so should not form part of a scientific model of the universe. We should therefore cut them out of the model and say that the big bang was the beginning of time."
Hawking formulates: “The eventual goal of science is to provide a single theory that describes the whole universe…our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe…if we discover a complete theory…then we shall all…be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist”.
To be fair, Dusty, it's very difficult to prove a negative (even where belief is not involved).
The School of Hard Knocks.
And the burden of proof is shared. If it turns out there is no grand scheme, or intelligence behind creation, then how important is the why of it?
Non-scientist here, about to get his coat ...
Why can't people leave the moon alone? Part of what makes it beautiful when I see it in the night sky is knowing that only a handful of humans have set foot there, that mankind hasn't yet exploited it and turned it into some shoddy commercial materials-grabbing venture.
Gah, I say. Gah!
skeptical ~There is no reason why a moon colony should not be pretty much self sustaining. However, it is probable that such a colony would be underground. It would need its own source of energy. Hopefully, by then, we will have access to nuclear fusion, which would be almost unlimited. Within 100 years, that should be possible.
What?
They've yet to create a self-sustaining (under glass) environment here on Earth much less the Moon. Biosphere2 broke down within a few months, and even that was after some cheating by the participants.
And Alpha Centauri is over four light years away and is not believed to be a good candidate for supporting life. It's thought that with binary star systems it may be much trickier for a planet to develop and retain a heavy atmosphere. Also, I wish folks would stop assuming that mining operations will be the salvation of every deep space voyage. Once you've extracted god knows what from god knows where, you then have to refine and process the raw material! These are massive undertakings on Earth and are often dangerous under the best conditions. To think we're actually going to plop down on some asteriod, or moon, or planet, and start mining away is absolutely absurd. Mining has been a favorite trope of science fiction tales almost from the begining, but like most things fictional it works better on paper than in real life.
skeptical ~Could such a vessel find sustenance at Alpha Centauri. If it was pre-prepared, yes. We cannot expect an Earth like planet. However, as long as Alpha Centauri has moons, asteroids, planetary rings, comets etc., there will be water and minerals. Water will be the most important item, but that is abundant in our own solar system, and there is no reason to believe it will be less so at Alpha Centauri.
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