Article by Bilal Waqar May 1, 2021 (wonderfulengineering.com)
• Proxima Centauri, at 4.243 light-years away from Earth (9.46 trillion kilometers) is the closest known star to our Sun, and it is the solar host to at least two known planets. Meredith MacGregor, an assistant professor at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, and her team had set up a program that directed nine instruments towards Proxima Centauri, including NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. All of these were able to record a massive flare coming right out of the Proxima Centauri.
• “The star went from normal to 14,000 times brighter when seen in ultraviolet wavelengths over the span of a few seconds,” said MacGregor. “It’s the first time we’ve ever had this kind of multi-wavelength coverage of a stellar flare. Usually, you’re lucky if you can get two instruments.”
• The super radiative explosion lasted for seven seconds and was the largest ever recorded coming out of a Milky Way star. The current reasoning for these explosions is that when magnetic fields close to the surface of a star twist, it causes a deadly wave of the radiative explosion. Scientists say with this new data, they will be able to study better how stars generate flares.
• Proxima Centauri is a “red-dwarf” star that is only one-eighth the size of the Sun. But the flare it blew into the milky way is termed as the largest and deadliest radiation ever to come from the surface of a star. A journal published in the Astrophysical Letters states, “The flare was so big that scientists think it may have spelled doom for any life present on nearby exoplanets in orbit.” The colossal solar flare was so big that it sure would have burnt out any extra-terrestrial life on a planet near the Proxima Centauri.
Scientists just termed a gigantic wave of fire as the biggest flare ever recorded in the
Meredith MacGregor
Milky Way. And it might have wiped out alien life on another planet.
The flowing flare was seen coming out from the Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun, that lies 9.46 trillion kilometers and 4.243 light-years away from earth. Scientists claimed of recording the massive burst of fire from the “red-dwarf” star, the distance of which from the sun is almost the same that it has from the earth.
Scientists state it holds a significant position. Why? Because it is the closest known star to the sun and serves as a solar host to at least two planets. It is one-eighth the size of the sun, but the flare it blew into the milky way is termed as the largest and deadliest radiation that came out from the surface of a star ever.
A journal published in the Astrophysical Letters states, “The flare was so big that scientists think it may have spelled doom for any life present on nearby exoplanets in orbit, reshaping the search for life beyond Earth’s solar system.”
“The star went from normal to 14,00 times brighter when seen in ultraviolet wavelengths over the span of a few seconds,” said MacGregor, an assistant professor at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA). The discovery has paved the path for a new physics that will probably change how we perceive stellar fires.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
Article by Jamie Carter March 22, 2021 (forbes.com)
• In 1993, pressure by budget-conscious politicians stopped NASA funding of programs searching for extraterrestrial life in the solar system. But in recent decades, NASA has been working more and more with organizations such as SETI – the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. But a recent NASA-funded study paper published in the journal Acta Astronautica suggests that as NASA goes about its business in space, perhaps it should also keep an eye out for ‘technosignatures’ – or evidence of technology or industrial activity – without much additional spending.
• The study paper suggests that a permanent radio telescope could be set up on the far side of the Moon to search for alien signals. Interstellar probes from extraterrestrial civilizations might have been sent into our solar system long ago, and there may be artifacts or aliens “lurking” on asteroids or UFO crash sites on other planets giving off a laser or radio signal. “Such artifacts might have been captured by solar system bodies into stable orbits or they might even have crashed on planets, asteroids or moons,” reads the paper. “Bodies with old surfaces such as those of the Moon or Mars might still exhibit evidence for such collisions.”
• About every 100,000 years, the closest star ‘Proxima Centauri’ comes within nearly a light-year from the Sun – one quarter its usual distance. So there have been literally “tens of thousands” of opportunities for a technologically advanced civilization from that system to launch probes into our solar system, according to the paper.
• The study includes a list of nine ways that NASA missions could detect observational “proof of extraterrestrial life” beyond Earth in our solar system and beyond:
1. Conduct ultra-high resolution scans of the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, Mercury and Ceres for signs of impact or artifacts in crash sites that could be millions and billions of years old.
2. Look for CFC gases or nitrogen dioxide – pollutions typically associated with industrial activity or a byproduct of combustion or nuclear technology around distant exoplanets.
3. Conduct an all-sky survey using an infrared space telescope to search for “waste heat emission” from technological waste or Dyson spheres.
4. Put a permanent radio telescope dish on the “radio-quiet” far side of the Moon to conduct super-sensitive searches for distant technosignatures, free of human radio contamination.
5. Look for aliens and alien artifacts lurking on resources-rich asteroids orbiting the Sun with Earth.
6. Have an intercept mission ready to launch when a target like ‘Oumuamua’ next presents itself, tumbling through our solar system. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s all-sky surveys that is scheduled to begin later this year may very well find such a rogue object heading towards our star system.
7. Search existing NASA and academic data for objects in orbit around known exoplanets, atmospheric pollution and night-time illumination on exoplanets.
8. Conduct all-sky infrared laser pulse searches for in visible light and in wide regions.
9. Identify small asteroids under 10m in diameter that we may have previously overlooked, that may be artificial.
• [Editor’s Note] If deep state fronts such as NASA and SETI truly did any of these obvious things that their study paper suggests, they would find that we inhabit a solar system and star sector of this galaxy that is absolutely teaming with technologically advanced extraterrestrial activity. Of course, the deep state knows this. This is why they make a big deal out of publishing their “latest efforts” in their never-ending search for signs of extraterrestrial life. It is all for show.
From UFO crash sites on other planets and aliens “lurking” on asteroids to a permanent radio telescope on the far side of the Moon, a new NASA-funded study into the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life (SETI) details how future NASA missions could purposefully look for the “technosignatures” of advanced alien civilizations.
Described as evidence for the use of technology or industrial activity in other parts of the Universe, the search for technosignatures has barely begun, but could unearth something surprising without much additional spend, says the study.
After more or less ceasing its search for technosignatures in 1993 after pressure by politicians, NASA has become increasingly involved in SETI.
‘Oumuamua’ – rogue asteroid or alien tech?
Published in the specialized journal Acta Astronautica, the study includes a list of what’s NASA missions could detect as observational “proof of extraterrestrial life” beyond Earth.
Perhaps most intriguingly, the paper suggests that interstellar probes might have been sent into the Solar System a long time ago, perhaps during the last close encounter of our Sun with other stars.
The closest star to the Sun right now, Proxima Centauri, is over 4.2 light-years distant, but roughly every 100,000 years a star comes within nearly a light-year from the Sun. There have therefore been “tens of thousands” of opportunities for technologies similar to ours to have launched probes into our Solar System, according to the paper.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
Article by Jamie Carter June 19, 2020 (forbes.com)
• In the first NASA non-radio technosignatures grant ever awarded, and the first NASA grant in over three decades connected with SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), NASA has awarded the University of Rochester (NY), Harvard University and the Smithsonian funding for a study entitled: Characterizing Atmospheric Technosignatures, to find ‘technosignatures’ that would indicate the presence of life on exoplanets within another star system.
• Technosignatures are scientific evidence of past or present technology similar to the type that we produce here on Earth. “Such signatures might include industrial pollution of atmospheres, city lights, photovoltaic cells (solar panels), megastructures, or swarms of satellites,” said Harvard’s Avi Loeb. The study will focus first on finding evidence of solar panels and chemical pollution. The presence of chlorofluorocarbons in exoplanetary atmospheres could indicate the presence of industrial activity.
• “There are only so many forms of energy in the Universe,” said Adam Frank at the University of Rochester. Any alien civilization is bound to have thought of solar power generation. “The nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, hosts a habitable planet, Proxima b. The planet is thought to be tidally locked with permanent day and night sides,” said Loeb. “If a civilization wants to illuminate or warm up the night side, they would place photovoltaic cells on the day-side and transfer the electric power gained to the night side.”
• Some astronomers believe that technosignatures may be simpler to find than evidence of microbial life—known as ‘biosignatures’ – which detect chemicals such as oxygen and methane. Says Loeb, “If another civilization had been doing it for much longer than we have, then their planet’s atmosphere might show detectable signs of artificially produced molecules that nature is very unlikely to produce spontaneously.”
• In the past five years, many thousands of exoplanets have been discovered, some of which are in their star systems’ habitable zones and could have water vapor in their atmospheres. “Now we know where to look. We have thousands of exoplanets including planets in the habitable zone where life can form,” says Frank. “The game has changed.” Loeb’s hope is that “[by] using this grant, we will quantify new ways to probe signs of alien technological civilizations that are similar to or much more advanced than our own.” The scientists eventually want to begin an online library of technosignatures that astrophysicists can use when gathering data.
• [Editor’s Note] This is just more time and money wasted by deep state-controlled institutions such as Harvard and the Smithsonian (and now add the University of Rochester to the list) who only want to hide the fact that since at least WWII, the US government and the cabal elite have known of the presence of intelligent extraterrestrial beings and civilizations permeating our galaxy and universe, and have been secretly studying and working with these beings to their own ends, which has nothing to do with elevating human development here on Earth. They have no intention of “discovering” and revealing to the public any extraterrestrial civilizations.
Space agency NASA has awarded a grant to a group of astronomers to search the Universe for signs of alien civilizations via “technosignatures”—and it will focus first on finding evidence of solar panels and chemical pollution.
Adam Frank
Technosignatures are scientific evidence of past or present technology, which of course would indicate the presence of life in another star system. Some think that these technosignatures may be simpler to find than direct evidence of microbial life—known as biosignatures.
Avi Loeb
“Technosignatures relate to signatures of advanced alien technologies similar to, or perhaps more sophisticated than, what we possess,” said Avi Loeb, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard. “Such signatures might include industrial pollution of atmospheres, city lights, photovoltaic cells (solar panels), megastructures, or swarms of satellites.”
Put simply, the scientists at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard and Smithsonian, and the University of Rochester, will look for exactly the same technosignatures that we produce.
It’s believed that other civilizations would probably use solar panels to produce energy, and also probably pollute their planet’s atmosphere with artificial chemicals and gases.
How and why to find solar panels around distant planets
How does an astronomer look for sunlight reflected off solar panels around a distant exoplanet? As long as they know the wavelength band to search in—which is what this study will try to establish—astronomers training their telescopes on exoplanets may be able to spot these technosignatures.
Any alien civilisation is bound to have thought of solar power generation, think the scientists. “There are only so many forms of energy in the Universe,” said Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, and the primary recipient of the grant. “Aliens are not magic.”
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
• Scientific American interviewed University of Virginia astronomer Professor Kelsey Johnson (pictured above) on her personal opinions of the existence of extraterrestrial life, which was published in UVA Today. Here are some paraphrased excerpts from this interview:
• As a scientist, I have to acknowledge that ET life could have visited Earth. Some of the unresolved cases could be genuine, such as the “Lakenheath-Bentwaters Incident” in 1956 where radar tracked, and military aircraft chased, bright glowing objects over southeastern England. It was witnessed by both the US Air Force and Royal Air Force, so it cannot be summarily dismissed. But “just because we don’t know what it was, doesn’t mean that it was ET life.”
• Galactic travel distance and modern speed restrictions shouldn’t prevent us from assuming that technology could develop to allow humans to travel to distant star systems. We went from the first airplane to space travel in only fifty years. But if we developed a way to travel at 1/100th the speed of light, which is 500 times faster than anything we currently have, it would still take over 400 years to reach Proxima Centauri, which is the nearest star. But a 400 year span of time might not be as daunting to ET lifeforms that could live far longer lifespans than humans.
• Any ET life that could visit us is likely to be millions of years more advanced than we are. Why would they visit us? Perhaps they are benevolent and checking in to see how we’re doing. Or maybe we are a science experiment they are checking up on. I doubt their intentions are hostile, or we would already be obliterated.
• The human need to colonize beyond Earth seems to be hardwired into our collective behavior. If we survive as a species long enough to become technologically advanced, I would be shocked if we don’t eventually visit other planets. This brings us to the core of Fermi’s Paradox. If humans would naturally spread out into colonizing the galaxy, why don’t we see other advanced civilizations doing so? The depressing answer is that any civilization that becomes sufficiently technologically advanced is doomed to destroy itself. But if we can survive our technological adolescence, I think that human creativity, bravery, and perseverance will compel us to journey to far-flung places in the galaxy.
• As far as we know now, we are the only species in the universe capable of trying to understand this grand cosmos. This gives us a set of ethical responsibilities – to not only survive, but to take care of our planet, and each other, ourselves, and the universe.
• [Editor’s Note] Most of the time, we hear from scientists who insist that physics will never allow travel beyond the speed of light; or that there is a perfectly logical scientific explanation for the UFO phenomenon besides visiting extraterrestrials; or that, since humans could not survive intergalactic travel, then an alien civilization would be equally prohibited; or that if extraterrestrials did come to the Earth, they would exterminate us.
It is refreshing to hear from a mainstream scientist who allows for the possibility of the eventual development of advanced technologies that defy our known physics, or that an alien species’ physiology might be dramatically different than our own. Professor Johnson concedes the possibility that advanced ET civilizations could be capable of intergalactic travel and visit the Earth, even though her scientific credentials will not allow her to admit that this is indeed occurring. She even allows for the possibility that humanity itself could be a scientific experiment conducted by advanced extraterrestrial beings.
This is the fine line that today’s academics and scientists must walk: to think beyond the restrictive mainstream mindset while at the same time avoid being mocked and disparaged by their peers who pander to a Deep State that economically controls them and these academic and scientific institutions.
Many people have a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to extraterrestrial life. Claims of sightings often are immediately dismissed or ridiculed as being crazy. Alternately, some people assume that scientists or the government are hiding something. Thanks to Hollywood, and sometimes-irresponsible “documentaries,” many misconceptions exist regarding E.T. life – whether or not E.T. life actually exists.
University of Virginia astronomer Kelsey Johnson recently weighed in with a commentary for Scientific American. Here’s what she has to say for readers of UVA Today.
Q. There is a lengthy history of claimed sightings of UFOs and abductions of humans by aliens. Some ancient cave paintings seem to depict UFOs and aliens. Do you think it’s possible that we have been visited by aliens?
A. “Possible” is a loaded word from a scientific perspective. We don’t have any scientific evidence that E.T. life has not visited Earth, so sure, it is possible. But there are only a handful of investigated cases that don’t have other possible, and more plausible, explanations.
But those handful are highly intriguing. One particular open case that has caught people’s attention is a famous unresolved case from England in 1956 known as the “Lakenheath-Bentwaters Incident.” One of the reasons this incident garnered attention is that it was witnessed by both the U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force. The official record includes both visual sightings of aerial phenomena and radar contact. Although it is tempting to jump to conclusions, just because we don’t know what it was, doesn’t mean that it was E.T. life.
Keeping an open mind is essential for scientific progress, but this progress also requires that claims can be either falsified or verified. Unfortunately, virtually none of E.T. life sightings come with a preponderance of testable evidence.
But as a scientist, I have to acknowledge that E.T. life could have visited Earth; some of the unresolved cases could be genuine, and we can’t rule that out.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
• Scientists searching for habitable alien worlds usually focus on the ‘habitable zone’, where the region of space is neither too cold nor too warm for life to exist. Star gazers at the University of California Riverside believe that scientists have failed to take into account a build-up of toxic gasses within a planet’s atmosphere which would not allow complex life to evolve.
• For example, any planet on the coldest outer edge of the habitable zone with liquid on the surface would require carbon dioxide at levels thousands of times that of Earth’s to maintain liquid and not have it freeze, according to Edward Schwieterman, lead author of a study published in The Astrophysical Journal. “That’s far beyond the levels known to be toxic to human and animal life on Earth,” said Schwieterman.
• Another inhospitable example is intense ultraviolet radiation as from the Earth’s two closest alien stars – Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1, which would batter any planets within their habitable zones, leading to a build up of poisonous carbon monoxide.
• “This is the first time the physiological limits of life on Earth have been considered to predict the distribution of complex life elsewhere in the universe,” says Timothy Lyons, one of the study’s co-authors and a professor of biogeochemistry in UCR’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and director of the Alternative Earths Astrobiology Center.
• “As far as we know, Earth is the only planet in the universe that can sustain human life,” concludes Schwieterman.
• [Editor’s Note] I’m sure that there are alien civilizations out there who consider this planet to be blanketed in a “poisonous” gas – oxygen. How can educated ‘experts’ make such ludicrous statements as “Earth is the only planet in the universe that can sustain human life”? Human-type beings exist throughout not only the universe, but throughout the galaxy and our own star system of 52 stars. This is just more disinformation calculated to make the public falsely believe that there is no alien presence on our world, or even close by. Lately, in the press there seems to be a concerted effort to push this Deep State agenda of ‘keep moving, there’s nothing to see here’.
Scientists’ search for aliens has become more focused on a smaller number of planets after making a discovery about the composition of most planets’ atmospheres. Typically, alien hunting experts have been analysing planets which are in the habitable zone of their host star – an region in space where it is neither too cold nor too warm for life to exist.
However, experts from the University of California Riverside (UCR) believe other scientists have failed to take into account a build up of toxic gasses within a planet’s atmosphere which would not allow complex life to evolve.
For example, by using computer models the researchers found that any planet on the outer edge of the habitable zone with liquid on the surface would require carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – levels thousands of times that of Earth’s to maintain liquid and not have it freeze.
Edward Schwieterman, lead author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal, and a NASA Postdoctoral Program, said: “To sustain liquid water at the outer edge of the conventional habitable zone, a planet would need tens of thousands of times more carbon dioxide than Earth has today.
“That’s far beyond the levels known to be toxic to human and animal life on Earth.”
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
• Astrophysicists at Villanova University have published a new paper suggesting that the planet that orbits Barnard’s Star– known as Barnard b – could have the potential for extraterrestrial life if water exists on the planet. At 30 trillion miles from Earth, Barnard’s Star is the second closest red dwarf star to our solar system after Proxima Centauri. The planet, Barnard b, was discovered in November 2018.
• The Villanova University astrophysicists are holding out hope the newly discovered planet may also harbor oceans. “Geothermal heating could support “life zones” under its surface, akin to subsurface lakes found in Antarctica,” said Edward Guinan, who with co-author Scott Engle presented the findings at the American Astronomy Society (AAS) in Seattle on January 10th.
• “The most significant aspect of the discovery of Barnard’s star b is that the two nearest star systems to the Sun are now known to host planets. This supports previous studies based on Kepler Mission data, inferring that planets can be very common throughout the galaxy, even numbering in the tens of billions,” said Engle. “The universe has been producing Earth-size planets far longer than we, or even the Sun itself, have existed.”
• [Editor’s Note] Just as significant is the confirmation that “geothermal heating could support “life zones” under its surface, akin to subsurface lakes found in Antarctica.” This supports the concept that there exist geothermal pockets under the ice on Antarctica capable of harboring Nazi bases that were only accessible by submarine, where the Nazi elite escaped at the end of World War II to build its secret space program.
E.T. might actually be out there, scientists have said in a shocking new development. He just might live on a planet 30 trillion miles from Earth, though.
A new paper published by astrophysicists at Villanova University suggests that the planet that orbits Barnard’s Star – known as Barnard b – could have the potential for extraterrestrial life if water exists on the planet. That’s due to the possibility of geothermal heating, which could create an ocean for primitive life.
“Geothermal heating could support “life zones” under its surface, akin to subsurface lakes found in Antarctica,” said Edward Guinan.
The temperature on Barnard B is similar to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, at roughly 238 degrees below zero, but given the likely presence of oceans on the Jupiter lunar satellite, the astrophysicists are holding out hope the newly discovered planet may also harbor oceans.
“We note that the surface temperature on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is similar to Barnard b but, because of tidal heating, Europa probably has liquid oceans under its icy surface,” Guinan added in the statement.
For comparison purposes, rubber freezes below -98 °F / -72 °C and human blood freezes between -2°C and -3°C.
Guinan, who worked on the paper alongside Scott Engle, presented the findings at the American Astronomy Society (AAS) in Seattle on Thursday.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
by Matt Williams April 20, 2018 (universetoday.com)
• In two recent research papers, Harvard Professor Abraham Loeb and Sonneberg Observatory researcher Michael Hippke looked at the challenges that extra-terrestrials would face launching chemical rockets from large planets and also planets in a close orbit to its central sun. Both situations create a gravity well that would require an escape velocity impossible for chemical rocket propulsion.
• Our G-type Earth is unique in that it is relatively small and at such a distance from its yellow dwarf star that it will allow a rocket to escape from the Earth’s gravity well. Says Loeb, “By a fortunate coincidence, the escape speed from the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is at the limit of attainable speed by chemical rockets… But the habitable zone around fainter stars is closer in, making it much more challenging for chemical rockets to escape from the deeper gravitational pit there.”
• The most common star in the galaxy is the M-type red dwarf star, accounting for 75% of the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The red dwarfs are also the most likely stars to have rocky planets. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is such an M-type star. It has an Earth-sized planet, Proxima b, with a ‘habitable zone’ for possible life that is much closer to its’ fainter star than is the Earth to the Sun. “A civilization on Proxima b will find it difficult to escape from their location to interstellar space with chemical rockets,” says Loeb.
• Hippke suggests that planets that have more mass than the Earth, and therefore a higher surface gravity, along with flatter topography, shallow oceans, and a thicker atmosphere, may be ideal for biological life. But the higher surface gravity means that it will also have a higher escape velocity. The amount of propellant needed lift a rocket out of the planet’s gravity would make this method of propulsion impractical. This could have a serious effect on an alien civilization’s space travel. Explains Hippke, “On more massive planets, space flight would be exponentially more expensive. Such civilizations would not have satellite TV, a moon mission, or a Hubble Space Telescope. This should alter their way of development in certain ways we can now analyze in more detail.”
• Both Loeb and Hippke also noted that extra-terrestrial civilizations could address these challenges by adopting other methods of propulsion. Chemical propulsion may be something that few technologically-advanced species would adopt because it is simply not practical. Therefore, it would make sense to search for extraterrestrial signals associated with lightsails or nuclear engines near dwarf stars.
• “Civilizations from Super-Earths are much less likely to explore the stars,” reasons Hippke. “They would be (to some extent) “arrested” on their home planet, and make more use of lasers or radio telescopes for interstellar communication instead of sending probes or spaceships.”
• [Editor’s Note] On the other hand, advanced civilizations who have mastered anti-gravity propulsion, space-time wormholes, and space-time bubbles would consider chemical-fueled or even nuclear-fueled rockets to be primitive technology. The UFO’s we see darting all around the sky certainly aren’t rockets.
Since the beginning of the Space Age, humans have relied on chemical rockets to get into space. While this method is certainly effective, it is also very expensive and requires a considerable amount of resources. As we look to more efficient means of getting out into space, one has to wonder if similarly-advanced species on other planets (where conditions would be different) would rely on similar methods.
Harvard Professor Abraham Loeb and Michael Hippke, an independent researcher affiliated with the Sonneberg Observatory, both addressed this question in two recently–released papers. Whereas Prof. Loeb looks at the challenges extra-terrestrials would face launching rockets from Proxima b, Hippke considers whether aliens living on a Super-Earth would be able to get into space.
Professor Abraham Loeb
The papers, tiled “Interstellar Escape from Proxima b is Barely Possible with Chemical Rockets” and “Spaceflight from Super-Earths is difficult” recently appeared online, and were authored by Prof. Loeb and Hippke, respectively. Whereas Loeb addresses the challenges of chemical rockets escaping Proxima b, Hippke considers whether or not the same rockets would able to achieve escape velocity at all.
For the sake of his study, Loeb considered how we humans are fortunate enough to live on a planet that is well-suited for space launches. Essentially, if a rocket is to escape from the Earth’s surface and reach space, it needs to achieve an escape velocity of 11.186 km/s (40,270 km/h; 25,020 mph). Similarly, the escape velocity needed to get away from the location of the Earth around the Sun is about 42 km/s (151,200 km/h; 93,951 mph).
As Prof. Loeb told Universe Today via email: “Chemical propulsion requires a fuel mass that grows exponentially with terminal speed. By a fortunate coincidence the escape speed from the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is at the limit of attainable speed by chemical rockets. But the habitable zone around fainter stars is closer in, making it much more challenging for chemical rockets to escape from the deeper gravitational pit there.”
As Loeb indicates in his essay, the escape speed scales as the square root of the stellar mass over the distance from the star, which implies that the escape speed from the habitable zone scales inversely with stellar mass to the power of one quarter. For planets like Earth, orbiting within the habitable zone of a G-type (yellow dwarf) star like our Sun, this works out quite well.
Unfortunately, this does not work well for terrestrial planets that orbit lower-mass M-type (red dwarf) stars. These stars are the most common type in the Universe, accounting for 75% of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy alone. In addition, recent exoplanet surveys have discovered a plethora of rocky planets orbiting red dwarf stars systems, with some scientists venturing that they are the most likely place to find potentially-habitable rocky planets.
Using the nearest star to our own as an example (Proxima Centauri), Loeb explains how a rocket using chemical propellant would have a much harder time achieving escape velocity from a planet located within its habitable zone.
“The nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is an example for a faint star with only 12% of the mass of the Sun,” he said. “A couple of years ago, it was discovered that this star has an Earth-size planet, Proxima b, in its habitable zone, which is 20 times closer than the separation of the Earth from the Sun. At that location, the escape speed is 50% larger than from the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. A civilization on Proxima b will find it difficult to escape from their location to interstellar space with chemical rockets.”
Michael Hippke
Hippke’s paper, on the other hand, begins by considering that Earth may in fact not be the most habitable type of planet in our Universe. For instance, planets that are more massive than Earth would have higher surface gravity, which means they would be able to hold onto a thicker atmosphere, which would provide greater shielding against harmful cosmic rays and solar radiation.
In addition, a planet with higher gravity would have a flatter topography, resulting in archipelagos instead of continents and shallower oceans – an ideal situation where biodiversity is concerned. However, when it comes to rocket launches, increased surface gravity would also mean a higher escape velocity. As Hippke indicated in his study: “Rockets suffer from the Tsiolkovsky (1903) equation : if a rocket carries its own fuel, the ratio of total rocket mass versus final velocity is an exponential function, making high speeds (or heavy payloads) increasingly expensive.”
For comparison, Hippke uses Kepler-20 b, a Super-Earth located 950 light years away that is 1.6 times Earth’s radius and 9.7 times it mass. Whereas escape velocity from Earth is roughly 11 km/s, a rocket attempting to leave a Super-Earth similar to Kepler-20 b would need to achieve an escape velocity of ~27.1 km/s. As a result, a single-stage rocket on Kepler-20 b would have to burn 104 times as much fuel as a rocket on Earth to get into orbit.
To put it into perspective, Hippke considers specific payloads being launched from Earth. “To lift a more useful payload of 6.2 t as required for the James Webb Space Telescope on Kepler-20 b, the fuel mass would increase to 55,000 t, about the mass of the largest ocean battleships,” he writes. “For a classical Apollo moon mission (45 t), the rocket would need to be considerably larger, ~400,000 t.”
While Hippke’s analysis concludes that chemical rockets would still allow for escape velocities on Super-Earths up to 10 Earth masses, the amount of propellant needed makes this method impractical. As Hippke pointed out, this could have a serious effect on an alien civilization’s development.
“I am surprised to see how close we as humans are to end up on a planet which is still reasonably lightweight to conduct space flight,” he said. “Other civilizations, if they exist, might not be as lucky. On more massive planets, space flight would be exponentially more expensive. Such civilizations would not have satellite TV, a moon mission, or a Hubble Space Telescope. This should alter their way of development in certain ways we can now analyze in more detail.”
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.
Scientists just termed a gigantic wave of fire as the biggest flare ever recorded in the
From UFO crash sites on other planets and aliens “lurking” on asteroids to a
permanent radio telescope on the far side of the Moon, a new NASA-funded study into the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life (SETI) details how future NASA missions could purposefully look for the “technosignatures” of advanced alien civilizations.
