Neighboring galaxy worthy of closer examination
Scientists at Yale University, led by astronomer and exoplanet hunter Debra Fisher, insist that the closest galaxy to the Solar System, Alpha Centauri, should be the main target for space probes. This system, made up of three stars and possible planetary systems, is located just 4.3 light years from the Sun. The only problem is that the flight there can take a long time and, most likely, it will take more than one human life to track it.
Scientists now know that the neighboring system contains a pair of stars Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. Alpha Centauri C, also known as Proxima Centauri, is a small and faint "red dwarf", small and relatively cool star that may be gravitationally bound to this duo. The most mysterious for astronomers is the existence of exoplanets in this system. In 2012, the discovery of a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B was announced, but three years later in a new study, this theory was disproved.
Many scientists still believe that a hypothetical exoplanet exists, and, moreover, may be similar to Earth. This can serve as an additional motivator for sending a spacecraft to Alpha Centauri. But to start preparing for the mission, a deeper look at the star system is required, and this is very difficult since at present there is no telescope that would be able to provide an image of this planet if it exists.
The fact is that 4.3 light years, a relatively short distance by cosmic standards, is 40 trillion kilometers. Even the most advanced probe sent from Earth will take about 40,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is the fastest spacecraft launched from Earth to date. Its maximum speed is 58,240 kilometers per hour. However, even such a fast ship would have taken 78 thousand years to reach Alpha Centauri.
“Once we have the ability to accelerate the probe to 10 percent the speed of light, this will be the first place we will fly. This is the closest star system and therefore our target,”said Debra Fischer.
Gradually, scientists come to the conclusion that it is necessary to apply slightly different technologies in order to make interstellar travel feasible - it is necessary to create a fundamentally new model of the engine.
Promotional video: