Alpha Centauri might be habitable after all

[johndsal]

The other thing to think of is who will go on these trips. Will it be the rich, the military, the scientists, governments? Ordinary folk will be left to their fate. Can we imagine a universe populated with the descendants of politicians, royalty etc. That scares me more than aliens coming here and sharing our planet

 

[night_wrtr]

The other thing to think of is who will go on these trips. Will it be the rich, the military, the scientists, governments? Ordinary folk will be left to their fate. Can we imagine a universe populated with the descendants of politicians, royalty etc. That scares me more than aliens coming here and sharing our planet

While I would say that the rich and powerful would probably be able to pull some strings for seats, I’d say that nearly all of the people selected to go would have to have a specific skill set to contribute to the group. At least in the early pioneering days when seats are limited.

And I say selected because there would probably be some kind of pool/lottery that narrows the field down among those competing for jobs.

 

[Vertigo]

While I would say that the rich and powerful would probably be able to pull some strings for seats, I’d say that nearly all of the people selected to go would have to have a specific skill set to contribute to the group. At least in the early pioneering days when seats are limited.

And I say selected because there would probably be some kind of pool/lottery that narrows the field down among those competing for jobs.

I would have thought you'd only need a pool lottery approach if you are running away from something with limited 'seats.' Not everyone wants to be a pioneer and I'd think you'd do just fine recruiting the best from across the world.

 

[night_wrtr]

I would have thought you'd only need a pool lottery approach if you are running away from something with limited 'seats.' Not everyone wants to be a pioneer and I'd think you'd do just fine recruiting the best from across the world.

Maybe, but if we think how far into the future these pioneers would start embarking on the first ships, then think about the state of word affairs, living conditions, etc, you might find yourself with more qualified volunteers than you can use. At least in the early days.

 

[chornedsnorkack]

And I said 79 years, but it would be closer to 1 year, assuming the planet was in a similar orbit to ours around Alpha. Maybe that oscillation is minor relative to a yearly cycle. I don't know how much it would change the planet's orbit over time, though.

Not all that much.
At periapse, the stars are still 11 AU distance. The period would be 26 Earth years if stars stayed at the same distance, which they do not.

While the orbital period of Ab, in habitable zone, would be 1,3 Earth years.
So 20 orbits in notional circular orbit.
While Moon has about 13 orbits in 1 year.
Sun does perturb orbit of Moon. What happens?
The plane of Moon´s orbit changes rapidly, and so does the apside line.
But the inclination of Moon´s orbit to ecliptic remains small and constant, and the eccentricity varies periodically within small limits.
So, for the planets of Alpha Centauri, I should expect this kind of periodic, small amplitude perturbations.
Any actual computations of what the periods of those are?

 

[Brian G Turner]

However, it's not all good news - Promixa was found to emit deadly bursts of X-Rays during solar flares during its solar cycle.

So far it's looked grim and dangerous to be on a planet orbiting a red dwarf.

However, new research suggests that these deadly flares actually go out pole-ward from these stars, rather than from the equator - which means planets might not get much impact from them at all:

Superflares are less harmful to exoplanets than previously thought

Superflares, extreme radiation bursts from stars, have been suspected of causing lasting damage to the atmospheres and thus habitability of exoplanets. A newly published study found evidence that they only pose a limited danger to planetary systems, since the radiation bursts do not explode in...

phys.org

 

[RJM Corbet]

I think life is what animates the form. Life doesn't have to be limited to the carbon based life forms we are looking for.

Our research is based on our spacial/temporal limitation -- our truly wonderful scientific instruments, and microscopes and telescopes, are really just extensions of our five natural/temporal senses of sight and hearing, and so on.

Life and the forms it occupies doesn't have to be limited to purely human concepts of how life can be measured in human terms. All human knowledge breaks down at the the time/space frontier. We don't know all that much, really?

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

I like to think of astrobiologists living on a world orbiting a neutron star. They look out into the cosmos and lament: "Most of the stars in the sky are not neutron stars and will never attain neutron-stardom. Any planets orbiting those failed stars will forever be denied the life-giving flood of gamma rays and X-rays our benificent Sun omits. Circling forever in the feeble glow of sub-violet radiation, those bleak worlds shall remain permenantly sterile."

 

[AllanR]

I like to think of astrobiologists living on a world orbiting a neutron star. They look out into the cosmos and lament: "Most of the stars in the sky are not neutron stars and will never attain neutron-stardom. Any planets orbiting those failed stars will forever be denied the life-giving flood of gamma rays and X-rays our benificent Sun omits. Circling forever in the feeble glow of sub-violet radiation, those bleak worlds shall remain permenantly sterile."

They'll be surprised when humans show up with a ship larger than their largest city, yet with less mass than their smallest appendage.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

They'll be surprised when humans show up with a ship larger than their largest city, yet with less mass than their smallest appendage.

"We brought one of the aliens down to the stellar surface for a diplomatic reception. On arrival, the creature laminated itself over the entire surface of the Capitol District to a depth of one micron, and has not made any further communications. We do not know if this behaviour is typical of their species."

 

[BAYLOR]

The planet orbiting Proxima B is tidal locked , with one side pernambuco permanently facing the that sun , That type of star though long lived , periodically scotches the surface of that planet with lethal solar flares.

 

[Vertigo]

The planet orbiting Proxima B is tidal locked , with one side pernambuco permanently facing the that sun , That type of star though long lived , periodically scotches the surface of that planet with lethal solar flares.

Allow me to direct you to @Brian G Turner's post just 5 post prior to yours

 

[BAYLOR]

Allow me to direct you to @Brian G Turner's post just 5 post prior to yours

Vertigo , believe it or not, I neither read nor even saw Brians comment. Id heard about this for documentary which talked about the Proxima system.

But , I should have done more reading the thread comments before I posted.