For many decades, mankind has been arguing whether we are alone in the Universe or not, whether it is possible to transport people to another planet in the distant future, or is it a pipe fantasy.
The Americans have already promised to land their astronaut on Mars. Vladilen Sanakoev, an engineer at the educational observatory of the Ural Federal University, expressed his opinion on space exploration.
Time Machine
Alexey Zayakin: Vladilen, it is a well-known fact that our planet is only a small particle in the solar system. How far has modern science advanced in the study of the universe and processes far from Earth?
Vladilen Sanakoev: To date, scientists have already studied everything visible from one observable horizon of the Universe to another. We were able to observe galaxies that began to form only 500 million years after the Big Bang. As if we got into a time machine, we got the opportunity to rewind the tape back. We realized that many years ago many galaxies were active and the core was enlarging. In that active period, life, comparable to ours, probably could not have originated anywhere. New stars appeared, over several million years they burned out, black holes and neutron stars were actively formed. Now these processes have already calmed down. There is no luminous powerful core that would radiate all types of energy. A period of relative equilibrium has come, which led to the possibility of the origin of life on Earth.
- The sun, according to some scientists, is now in the middle stage of its development. Thoughts are already being expressed that sooner or later it will begin to fade away and then humanity will have to save itself on another planet. - Yes, this is so, but we cannot know whether people will exist by the time the sun goes out. Perhaps by that time they will be transformed, perhaps they will have already left this planet. No changes are expected for the next few million years. The sun is a unique star, it is noticeably quieter than red dwarfs and lives much longer than blue giants. And it is quite well located in the orbit of our galaxy, so that serious cataclysms do not threaten us in the next millions of years.- However, attempts are already being made to organize an expedition to Mars, where life is believed to be possible. Is the red planet really a chance for humanity? - I would compare Mars with the northern regions of our country. The Red Planet has about three times less light than the Earth's equator. I heard that about 8 thousand inhabitants of our planet have already signed up for a one-way flight to Mars, if suddenly such an opportunity arises. I would advise these people to live for a couple of years, for example, in Norilsk. Feel the local climate.
Roughly the same thing awaits them on Mars, except that there will be no opportunity to go to a hot country. Take a look at Antarctica. People who go there need vitamins and food. It will not be possible to grow something on Mars on the open ground, and the reserves taken with you will probably not be unlimited. I think that the future still belongs to the creation of some kind of artificial planet with its own energy source. Then the Sun will no longer be needed. Technologies are now developing in this direction.
Life on Earth will not die
- Now scientists and astronomers are actively studying other planets and trying to find out if there is life elsewhere. Do you think aliens exist?- Surely there is life somewhere. But it seems to me that we have completely different interests with representatives of other civilizations and they have no special need to communicate with us. Of course, for us, in terms of science, communication with another species would be a huge step forward. I will say that astronomers have not yet come across anything in the telescope frame that would indicate some kind of life outside the Earth. - Several years ago, a fairly large meteorite flew to Chelyabinsk, neighboring Yekaterinburg. Are celestial bodies falling to Earth possible in the near future and how can this threaten humanity?- On average, such celestial bodies fall to Earth once every forty years, so nothing can be ruled out. Maybe the asteroid will come to us tomorrow, or maybe in a hundred years. Since the beginning of this year, astronomers near the Earth have discovered about seven hundred such objects in the sky. Some bodies are quite large, much larger than the body that entered the atmosphere of our planet near Chelyabinsk. For billions of years, the planets have almost completely cleared their orbits from the presence of other bodies, but nevertheless, the danger of some of them falling to the Earth remains. - What asteroids threaten our planet in the coming years?- The most dangerous large asteroids flying in relative proximity to the Earth are known. The only threat may be those of which we do not yet know. Now the task of astronomers is precisely to detect and calculate their trajectory. There are several celestial bodies with a diameter of about 200 meters, which we do not yet know about and the discovery of which we have yet to discover. Of course, if such an asteroid arrives on our planet, it will not seem to anyone. But life on Earth will definitely not die. An explosion will occur, akin to the eruption of a powerful volcano. At a few hundred kilometers, all living things will die, possibly climate change. There is a debate about whether to blow up such objects so that they do less harm, or still give them the opportunity to fall on our planet. Another option is to launch a spacecraft into space,who can take the asteroid out of a dangerous orbit. To solve this issue, the help of mathematicians will certainly be needed.- What natural phenomena should be expected in the near future? - From 23 to 25 July in the southern part of the sky you can see a very spectacular flight of the ISS from west to east. By the way, many of those who claim to have seen a UFO actually observed a flyby of the ISS, so I hasten to upset them. In addition, after a long break, on August 7, a lunar eclipse will occur. A quarter of the Moon's southern disk will be hidden. On the night of August 12-13, we expect a powerful Perseid meteor shower. About 150 meteors can be seen per hour. Alexey ZAYAKIN
