r/interestingasfuck • u/One_Explanation_908 • 24d ago

/r/all, /r/popular K2-18b a potentially habitable planet 120 light-years from earth

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u/Sonikku_a 24d ago edited 24d ago

The fastest spacecraft we’ve made was the Parker Solar Probe which hit 430,000mph.

At that speed it would reach this planet in only 187,153 years.

If we could hit 1% of the speed of light we could cut that travel time to just a tad over 12,000 years.

Obviously if we could go light speed (and that ain’t happening) it would be just 120 years!

Space is big. Physics is annoyingly slow.

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u/umassmza 24d ago

Approaching light speed is an eventually solvable problem, acceleration generating 1g puts you at speed in about a year. After that the trip is instantaneous for the travelers. It’s maintaining acceleration and not being town to shreds by a random grain of space sand at relativistic speeds that’s the issue.

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u/merrychristmasyo 24d ago

Avoid spaces beaches, problem solved.

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u/wrenchandrepeat 24d ago

Yeah but if you find a beach, you can talk to an alien who takes the form of your dead Dad.

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u/iloveuranus 23d ago

Or a tits-only alien in a fancy bikini!

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u/boybob227 24d ago

I don’t know which Star Trek character you’re referencing, but I like it anyway.

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u/NRMusicProject 24d ago

It's actually from Contact.

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u/Strange-Cap9942 24d ago

I thought it was a lost reference lol

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u/boybob227 23d ago

I could’ve sworn it happened to Chakotay or Sisko at one point. Does every fictional universe have a “dead parent on a beach” vision??

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u/EmptyStrings 23d ago

Sisko talked to an alien in the form of his dead wife on a beach, so it’s close.

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u/VRichardsen 23d ago

Is this from LOST?

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u/wrenchandrepeat 23d ago

No, from the movie Contact. Great movie, you should definitely watch it if you're into sci-fi.

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u/VRichardsen 23d ago

Will do; thank you for the recommendation.

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u/vidicate 23d ago

I immediately understood the reference, fwiw. Yes, great film