Chapter 1
The neighborhood is too big
Chapter 2
Einstein's absolute speed limit
Chapter 3
The ridiculous fuel bill of interstellar travel
Chapter 4
Space is actively trying to kill us
YOUR GOAL
Master of Why we might never leave our solar system
Ch 1 · The neighborhood is too big
artiteacher Interstellar Scale
Too far away, too far away, It takes thousands of years to cross the dark.
artiteacher Light travels 9.46 trillion kilometers in one Julian year, making instant communication across interstellar space impossible.
artiteacher Voyager 1 slowly exits the solar system into the dark void of interstellar space.
Fun Fact
Cosmic scale: If the Sun were a tiny grain of sand, the nearest star Proxima Centauri would be another grain of sand located 20 miles away [1].
Glossary
stellar neighborhood (noun)
The region of space immediately surrounding a particular star, containing its nearest stellar systems. Our sun's local region contains thirty-four stars within a sphere twenty-five light-years across.
The region of space immediately surrounding a particular star, containing its nearest stellar systems. Our sun's local region contains thirty-four stars within a sphere twenty-five light-years across.
Quiz
Which constellation contains the star AC+79 3888, which Voyager 1 will pass in 40,000 years?
Quiz
What speed record did the Apollo 10 mission set during its return to Earth in 1969?
Quiz
If we send a radio message to Proxima Centauri today, how long must we wait for a reply?