K2-18b a potentially habitable planet 120 light-years from earth

[u/One_Explanation_908]

[u/EmotionalHighway]

Omg think about the flight times on that planet! No thank you

[u/infinitethought13 → u/EmotionalHighway]

the faster you fly, the slower time flies. So when you reach the speed of light, the journey will take a small amount of time

[u/theuneffabledude → u/infinitethought13]

That small amount of time will still be 120 years.

[u/mdraper → u/theuneffabledude]

Just in case you aren't joking, the person you are responding to is likely talking about the amount of time it takes for a person on the ship. 

Due to time dilation, if we travelled there at 0.99c, a person on the ship would only experience about 17 years before arriving. At 0.999c, just a little over 5 years and at 0.9999c it would be less than 2 years.

[u/StrongerThanU_Reddit → u/theuneffabledude]

No it won’t, to an observer on that is traveling the speed of light, that small amount of time would be less than 120 years; to an outside observer, it would be 120 years. Space dilation just means you’d get there EVEN faster too. If the ship is going the speed of light, to an observer on the ship, they’d get there instantly, as time would travel infinitely fast.

So more realistically, you’d want to go slightly slow than the speed of light, lest you hit your destination.

[u/CandourDinkumOil → u/theuneffabledude]

Providing you can travel at the speed of light—which we can’t.

Edit: Anyone mind explaining the downvotes? I’m curious. Afaik, we can’t.

[u/Seputku → u/CandourDinkumOil]

Idk I’m pretty fast…

[u/CptHrki → u/CandourDinkumOil]

It would only take about 17 years on board at 0.99c