The Alpha Centauri System

[@DrTorkal]

There's a project called Breakthrough Starshot that wants to accelerate a tiny camera to about 0.2c with a massively powerful laser hitting a light sail and send it to this system. At this speed it would take about 25 years to get there, which means if we build everything soon enough we might see a photo of these stars in our lifetime!

[@ProfessorDaveExplains]

So amazing!

[@richblantin1343]

I doubt that I'll likely live that much longer but it gives me hope for my children and grandchildren . I've seen so many terrible and wonderful things in my life so far . I hope that no one forgets the past but continues to reach out to the future . Our life is so very small in the measure of the universe but we have learned so much in such a short period of time . Life is amazing !

[@richardaitkenhead]

The thought fills me with joy, would really need a small enough atomic clock before it would be possible thou

[@dawgsout4free]

Richard Aitkenhead It would be possible most likely not in our time but I wish my children or grandchildren will see it

[@sethdrake7551]

Maybe if we did that we could accelerate it more as our laser technology improves as well

[@Syndicatian]

Watching videos like these, I kinda wish I was born about a century later.

[@KarltonFranz]

Me too. Just think that people a century from not (maybe reading this comment) will likely long for times such as the ones we live in for a number of reasons, some known and some unknown to us now.

[@chrisgould101]

*Earlier

[@Syndicatian]

@@chrisgould101 Thanks, I'll make sure to remember that.

[@chrisgould101]

@@Syndicatian won't remember it if it's in the future

[@Syndicatian]

@@chrisgould101 Oh, I thought it was a grammer correction. My mistake, sorry. I'd rather be born inside a incubation chamber on mars than to expierience WW2 and other atrocities of the past century, thank you.

[@ColeOfCentauri]

I believe some of the great cathedrals from the Medieval and Renaissance periods took longer than a human lifetime to build. The people who laid the foundations for them knew that somebody else would have to finish the job because they wouldn’t live long enough. A solar sail mission to Alpha Centauri might just be our generation’s cathedral. It would be an honor to learn how to build that solar sail, knowing that I won’t live to see it reach Alpha Centauri, and that our grandchildren or great grandchildren will be the ones collecting the data from what our engineers built and deployed.

[@bobbarclay3203]

The cathedral analogy is right on. When they were built everyone from the King to the poorest peasant were committed. I dont know if society today is dedicated in the same way, or would be willing to pay for a multigenerational project. But I hope so.

[@doctorpanigrahi9975]

With suspended animation, You do not have to age at all. It's quite impractical to carry that much food and waste water over 2 generations of people ! Suspended animation is the key to our intergalactic travel ambition.

[@revanvonheaven8270]

There are ten dimensions where do you think the heaven is

[@ColeOfCentauri]

@@revanvonheaven8270 Interesting question, considering the way God is described in scripture, he is capable of perceiving both past and future as the present, which means he can perceive at least four dimensions, and possibly 10. I’d suppose, in the case that God and heaven are real, they would at least be in the fifth dimension, if not the 10th or even beyond.

[@xaviermagnate]

No one will reach it.

[@filus05]

It's crazy that this video is two years old and we already know about two more planets orbiting Proxima Centauri.

[@1000-THR]

wait what

[@filus05]

@@1000-THR Yep, Proxima Centauri C and D

[@sal8454]

There’s 7 planets orbiting the 2 suns A and B. There’s a civilised society called the Metoni living on a planet called Meton

[@xedsity]

@@sal8454 What civilised Society?

[@xedsity]

@@filus05 but are thet exo planets too?

[@djfritz2001]

I am utterly astounded that there is an earth sized planet around proxima, that sits in its habitable zone.

[@kennethdobos9755]

yeah like what were the chances of that

[@snyfilms1869]

@@kennethdobos9755 its a hugh chance tho

[@xavierhernandez-dones4497]

@@kennethdobos9755 if im not mistaken theres billions of solar systems, so very likely

[@techo___o]

Right? It's so weird. It's the closest star to us and it has an earth size planet in its habitable zone. How jackpot is that.

[@destructionfad7928]

One more religious than I would say that it was placed there just for us.

[@djmace9029]

I’m only 16. So hopefully I will live long enough to see pictures of the Centauri System. I really hope I do!

[@joekng9924]

I don't know... The life span of a 16 year old liberal these days is only about 34 years. Don't be a stupid liberal and you might see this.

[@peradolia]

JOE KNG what do political views have to do with anything?

[@blockbreaker8839]

JOE KNG he never said his political opinion...

[@miguelmalvina5200]

@@peradolia MURICA' BABY

[@thorntoadt.horntoadlll4726]

For you, 16 year old student, in reality, 'pictures' will be the closest humanity actually come to that star system. 'Star Trek' is still cool but no 'dylithium crystals' are going to be found. I will be happy with a couple decades of JW shots!

[@mk1st]

The immense distances between the stars really hit home for me when I learned that when two galaxies collide the chance of any two stars colliding is actually a very rare event.

[@MikinessAnalog]

Almost like the image of an atom being made of mostly space.

[@braxxian]

Yea. The sheer sizes involved when you consider the universe as a whole are truly mind boggling.

[@afischer8327]

Difficult to get my head around as well. But yes, mostly just the occasional bit of dust and a photon or two. It's like the second law of thermodynamics is jealous.

[@zemoxian]

The numbers we use don’t really help much. If you say a light year is six trillion miles or ten trillion kilometers, we just know they’re really big. Not how big. It’s really hard to really wrap your head around it. Or, in this case wrap it around your head 10 quadrillion times.

[@BalkanBiker]

You only learned half the truth. Stellar objects rarely collide even if they are close to each other. They would just continue circling each other because of gravity. The planets, however, are at a huge risk. Because if a star showed up that started affecting our sun even by a smallish margin, it would mean Earth's orbit getting messed up. Who knows, maybe we'd even get thrown out in the universe.

[@Bloodray19]

The problem is, even if we could send a probe, that's reaching it in a relatively short amount of time, say 30 years, we would only be able to communicate with it with a 4-5 year lag. If it's 4 lightyears away, and radio signals travel a bit slower than light, then it's a really long wait for the information

[@plainText384]

I doubt the probe we'll send will be able to reach a 15% c average speed necessary for a 30 year travel time, probably closer to 1,5% to 3% c (150 - 300 years) at least if we want it to slow down whem we get there, and we want to send one this century.

[@kenwittlief255]

it was 500 years from the first human looking at the moon with an optical telescope and realizing it was a spherical world similar to the Earth, with mountains and craters until Neil Armstrong stepped off the pad of the LEM and made a human footprint on the moon. Whats your rush?!

[@paulpena5040]

You could solve this problem with quantum communication. You entangle 2 particles 4 light years apart. When you affect one the other is affected immediately in a predictable way. You might start off with morse code but could work up to full blown audio after many iterations.

[@plainText384]

@@paulpena5040 you can not use quantum entanglement to transfer useful information. It's kinda like hiding a ball beneath two cups shuffling them so you don't know which has one, then separating them. When you look under one of the cups you instantly know if the other is hiding a ball, but you still can't really use this to send usefull information.

[@paulpena5040]

@@plainText384 Incorrect. Everything on your computer right now from complex visual images to audio, video, databases, etc can essentially be reduced down to 0s and 1s. That's the language of binary the only REAL language that a computer understands. Every other language or abstraction layer is compiled down to it. If you know whether the other is "hiding a ball" you know the answer to the binary question. Hence, information. Enough of these and you can convey ANY information.

[@Bland-79]

Proxima C was just confirmed and it has a ring.

[@randomdude3318]

I require a link

[@randomdude3318]

Thx

[@Bland-79]

@@randomdude3318 np

[@mamavswild]

It wants to propose to me. How sweet..:

[@timmyisownedbypjtoastieand3867]

Ill give it a call then

[@who_is_Lou_S]

Imagine traveling all the way out to the Alpha Centauri system and the only thing you get out of the trip is a mug.

[@connorwirsing8318]

And a free anaconda, don't forget that

[@darrellpatton4008]

T-Shirt and a shot glass.

[@kharjo8099]

@@connorwirsing8318 aye... the free Conda at Hutton Orbital

[@Majima_Nowhere]

Gotta do it for the pilgrimage and bragging rights, the mug is just a bonus. The Hutton Orbital run is a rite of passage to an extent.

[@Valrokius]

nice E:D reference

[@edmbkn5258]

Imagine, another star, another planet, and other people trying to discover us.

[@icyfrostydookie7168]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking too in the another galaxy or universe.

[@edmbkn5258]

@@icyfrostydookie7168 u r from Mars?

[@icyfrostydookie7168]

@@edmbkn5258 Your head is too far from mars. I'm in earth, did you see what I commentedn

[@edmbkn5258]

@@icyfrostydookie7168 just kidding, chum

[@rougueone7126]

@@edmbkn5258 Hope we don't reach the planet of predators, or else u know how it goes

[@ananominity]

My father was born in a dirt floor shack, but I've never known a life without electricity and all the other advantages that have made life no longer a struggle to survive. Having seen the firsthand accounts of that past, and living through decades of incredible scientific breakthroughs, it's a warm feeling to know that someday we will be move out into the universe. We will find a way. We always do. That makes me very content to have lived in this time.

[@ericparrish1515]

Why would that be

[@PointyTailofSatan]

An easy to way to visualize the distance to the Centauri system. Imagine our entire Solar System out to Neptune as a small disk 1 inch in diameter sitting on the goal line of a football field. The Voyagers, after 50 years of travel, are about 1/2 inch outside this 1 inch circle. The Centauri system is roughly another 1 inch diameter disk sitting on the opposite goal line about 100 yards away. This also gives you some idea how incredibly empty interstellar space really is.

[@dom8286]

Woah... That's a good one!

[@Trollseeder]

At what speed are they going?

[@bloodink9508]

At that distance they will not have even surpassed the ort cloud and still effectively would be within our solar system.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

@@Trollseeder About 30000 MPH. Mostly obtained by the slingshot effect from the planets

[@WORKERS.DREADNOUGHT]

you may think it's a long way to the chemist's, but that's peanuts compared with space ...

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I just wish we could advance at least a tier or two in the Kardashev Scale, so we'd have the technological capabilities to actually travel to these places.

[@dehu4638]

Just Some Guy without a Mustache That’s extremely demanding.

[@duanewilliams7353]

Might not welcome us, the devils and their spawn!!!!

[@RB-sj6pd]

Gordon jojo fitness spongebob and dunky

[@george4111]

PerfectYinYang How? It’s a wish calm down buddy

[@Brian-dc7vg]

Just Some Guy without a Mustache how are you everywhere?

[@joeymorse365]

when you are born too late to explore earth, but too early to explore the galaxy

[@chrisgould101]

Maybe this what u feel like when your a sperm

[@onax0013]

@@chrisgould101 wtf

[@thespeedingturtle]

@@onax0013 introduced

[@Julia-lk8jn]

When you belong to the small percentage of human beings who have unlimited access to electricity, clean water _and_ the internet, and use it to bemoan the harsh fate of not living on the USS Enterprise.

[@Sebrewer32]

You can definitely still explore earth

[@poliwagpi4554]

i used this as a source for my presentation on this system, and noticed that the available information has changed a lot in just the past 4 years, interesting how fast we gather new information. thanks for the tutorial mate

[@wassollderscheiss33]

Well, my daughter will go there. Hopefully. She's turned 2 months yesterday ;-)

[@deadchannel5933]

No way

[@killerqueen4681]

@@deadchannel5933 let a man imagine and dream we have achieved a lot in the past couple of decades it might actually happen

[@deadchannel5933]

@@killerqueen4681 Are you fkn crazy? We're barely managing to send humans safely and fast enough to Mars and back inside our Solar System within this decade and we are also barely managing to send the tiny "Solar sails" in about 20 years to Proxima Centauri with 20% the speed of light and you think humans will make it there to Alpha Centauri/Proxima Centauri within @wassollderscheiss33's daughter lifetime? That's some heavy stuff you smokin' there, buddy! We first also need to solve the issues with our own planet that we caused, and that takes a lot of time, after that we struggle even more to get to Mars and back quickly and safely enough with humans..

[@killerqueen4681]

@@deadchannel5933 dude calm down what are you getting so hyped up for no one believed it was possible to land boosters from orbit yet spacex does it, starship is almost up and running they landed that huge monstrou rocket all of this happened under 5-7 years since spacex first landed successfuly in 2015, his daughter is just 2 months old who knows what technology we might discover yup im not saying we are gonnaset foot on alpha centauri in a decade or so but lets be optimistic about space travel cuz thats the only thing good about this planet, im not even old im just turning 17 and she is just 2 months old you never know what happens mate, we are definitely seeing humans on mars in the next 4-5 years nasa is working on artemis its going to be a wonderful decade calm down and imagine i dont want to be unscientific but it feels nice to think that interstellar travel might be possible

[@shirq1661]

@@killerqueen4681 he isnt getting hyped, hes literally speaking facts

[@fynn3978]

Came here from the "trisolaris" - trilogy and I'm amazed at how close to reality the authors vision is. Thanks for helping me understand the alpha centauri system, thumbs up!

[@kamion53]

The Three Body problem..... Surely an intriguing triology., but also making a big appeal on scientific knowledge.

[@mabhatter4294]

There's also two books in a short series by Stephen Baxter, the first one of which is called "Proxima". What amazes me about these is that I had finished reading both books by the time the news of the planet hit the news and new scientist, yet the books cover basically the same planet. Somehow he had managed to write the books a few years ahead of time and on time for me to just have finished them as the news broke. That author is absolutely some kind of wizard, possibly a time travelling one here in disguise as a hard sci fi author.

[@jimuelpescador]

I'm learning astronomy while under quarantine 😊

[@exoplanets]

Im glad

[@Stinkys8050]

Definitely worse things you could be doing.

[@zaahidapatel1362]

Same 😄

[@TheRaksha25]

Same. Lol. I'm loving it.

[@Markus_Andrew]

It's great to hear that you folks are getting into it! I have been for a long time now, but it always makes me happy to hear about others talking an interest and learning about it. The more the merrier! It's a fascinating subject, and I truly believe it can make you a more enlightened person - not just about the cosmos, but about life itself. The two are not unrelated.

[@junkred9466]

Watching this video after watching The Netflix Series « 3 Body Problem » makes it even more fascinating

[@sick_ibg712]

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris" The Wright brothers

[@reactdev101]

they were totally wrong

[@conormayweather5474]

They never said that

[@womp47]

@@conormayweather5474 he did tecnically but its misquoted thats not actually what he said

[@jursamaj]

@@womp47 How can he have technically said it if it's not what he said? That's incoherent.

[@TheV-Man]

@@jursamaj I confess that in 1901, I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for 50 years." "The fact that the great scientist believed in flying machines was the one thing that encouraged us to begin our studies." Actual quote. (Wikiquotes)

[@ian6286]

Gonna just freeze myself so I can wake up in the future when space travel is available

[@goldbridge]

Paul ice Cryogenically freezing is BS

[@Chuked]

Lol did you play fallout 4

[@Chuked]

Vio Gt not gonna work lmao, the body still dies even if it’s perfectly preserved

[@nekopushyo]

artificial immortality is very possible, the neuralink will push us closer to it, or even make us immortal

[@Chuked]

@@nekopushyo i dont think we have the technology to do that yet

[@didkiddler3908]

Meanwhile, Bob from globebusters is still trying to prove that gyroscopes don't work

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Do you mean Bob (15 degrees) Knodel the liar and fraud ?

[@Sparkbomber]

@@WildPhotoShooter None other. Though... we could call him Standby-Bob since his 15 degree drift clip is.... globally popular. XD

[@nilz91]

what do you expect from a fraud commercial pilot...

[@WildPhotoShooter]

@@nilz91 Yes , Wolfie sorted that lie out, the only commercial piloting Bob was good for was crop dusting .

[@spinningspin6053]

Humanity will never be allowed beyond this shithole system

[@cesarordaz139]

Our human flesh will never make interstellar travel, it will be the human consciousness with a bio mechanical body.

[@nezlol1234]

Big brain moment

[@Despond]

@@nezlol1234 Not really. Our bodies are ravaged just if we're orbiting our own Earth. From rapid distrophy to increase in cancer etc. We will have to be cybernetic, mostly robotic to link/fix our biological weaknesses. The reality is we will have to be further away as human as possible to survive outside our planet.

[@joeyripswell]

right! the greys are avatars

[@allytank-itykitty7417]

The Flesh is weak, But the Machine is strong!

[@mjolnir_swe]

@@Despond Yet people went to the moon, came back and grew old. The main problem of interstellar travel is accelerating mass to a speed that makes any sense, and even if we could do that, even the max atainable speed is quite slow in astronomic terms. The hope lies in warping space.

[@alphacentauri6255]

I don’t know why but this resonates with me

[@andrewfrank7222]

I think B5 lied to us, no way the Centauri are so close and we hear nothing from them....

[@lmoral222]

Hmm, I wonder why, username ALPHA CENTAURI x'D

[@dougraddi908]

Why does it resonate with you

[@Cleopatra7Philopator]

No Way I could Tell, as I came here from "The Last Pharaoh", which was Really Good! 🤷‍♀️

[@sequoiahughes8536]

2:3 resonance?

[@somegirl675]

This is why the Breakthrough Starshot has me so excited. Ideally, it's supposed to be able to reach Alpha Centauri in 20 Years after launch, and get to about 20% the speed of light

[@ashutoshtiwari3785]

I am 75% sure it won't be happening. There is not much information about that Program. And also, the website looks like a joke.

[@cgriffin2013]

Please make more these videos !! Very interesting, and you do an excellent job explaining everything.

[@williamfullingim7668]

Greetings, I haveca question. I read that in the 1960s & 1970s atomic explosions in space could accelerate a crew of ... The increased speed would make the journey a little over 5 years, but without a way stop or slow the ship would pass by. But, is it possable to use the two stars gravitational pull to figure 8 around both stars forever? In a figure 8 hi-speed cameras could calculate landing of rovers as they pass by forever figure 8 ir maybe even swing around back home again. Is this practical? Could the figure 8 hold the ship between Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri?

[@dndjxnskdbajd4561]

I’m by no means an expert however would assume that as the journey would take ~5 years, the vessel would be travelling at close to c, the speed of light, which would be far too fast to maintain an orbit around these stars. The only thing capable of putting light-speed objects onto orbit is a black hole.

[@IshijimaKairo]

I mean, it could work, but you'd HAVE to slow it down.

[@timtheskeptic1147]

If I recall, that was called the Orion project and was rightfully dismissed as lunacy.

[@johnmeneses7039]

It's amazing to look up and see Alpha Centauri and then look through a 4-inch reflector and see two separate stars. Pity that Proxima Centauri is not bright enough to be seen through the 4-Inch!!

[@thoriummammet5945]

The really exciting prospect of us being able to leave our own star system and explore the universe at large would be if we eventually run into any other intelligent species out there- whether they'd be less advanced than ourselves or that we'd be the ones that looked primitive in comparison.

[@commscan314]

We'd probably die of each other's diseases before we examine each other.

[@Worick_]

If any moderately intelligent being finds us and analyzes us, we're screwed. One look at our planet tells them everything they need to know

[@danielmillangarzon6079]

I'm I the only one who came here after watching "Lost in Space"? Very nice video, by the way!!!

[@zaireh1507]

me too

[@eucalyptused]

*”We can run away together. Alpha Centauri! Lots of spare planets up there.”* -Crowley, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett

[@ericparrish1515]

Only two galaxies that can keep up with each other

[@Wh1t3_st4r]

How we doing after s2 ep 6?

[@Alejandro-ch6mj]

@@Wh1t3_st4ri wanna off myself

[@johntash5895]

Hey, that's a great presentation. I'm fascinated by the Alpha Centauri system and like to stay up on the latest science. Would you please make a video about the closest brown dwarfs to Earth. Glad that I found you.

[@manabouttongue]

Brown drawfs are really difficult to detect.

[@mejdalsari2296]

You can check the latest scientific developments in exoplanets here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iICno2ZmmdqFqMk

[@johntash5895]

@@manabouttongue I agree, difficult to detect, nevertheless two brown dwarfs are included in the 20 closest stars to Earth, each at about 7 light years distant. There may yet be found another brown dwarf or red dwarf closer than Beta Centauri which lies 4.2 LY distant.

[@johntash5895]

@@mejdalsari2296 Thank you.

[@jacobbott9825]

John Tash interesting, I wonder how close a planet has to be to a brown dwarf to heat it up enough.

[@sarfaraz.hosseini]

This was extraordinary. Thank you Dave. Stay safe.

[@exoplanets]

It was

[@cyanidensadness]

I think the most efficient way to take photographs of the system is to have an artificial intelligence man the spacecraft, cutting down the length of the project by a decade or two. It should be an AI which can detect the presence of a planet without the need for humans to send a command, thus cutting the time needed by about 8 years or so. All the AI needs to know is what a planet/star looks like, and when to continue propulsion to take pictures of the other planet(s) and possibly the star. With Breakthrough Starshot, we would have the first pictures from Proxima Centauri probably around 30 years after we send a spacecraft from Earth.

[@tatotaytoman5934]

nuclear rocket

[@ChrisJohnson-yw2ky]

Not a bad idea friend, not a bad idea at all.

[@christophercruzadrian4494]

Thanks!

[@missungitv7154]

I’ll be dead and into the afterlife once we start interstellar travel

[@robertsullivan4773]

So will everyone watching this video. Sorry any meaningful exploration of this star system is probably one hundred and fifty to two hundred years away and that's if we don't kill ourselves off.

[@johnnyfire3860]

And maybe in the afterlife we can see any place in the universe. Idk, just a thought

[@jursamaj]

@@johnnyfire3860 There is no reason to believe in any afterlife.

[@jursamaj]

@Sloppy Potato Do you have any evidence for an afterlife, or are you just repeating what you were told as a kid?

[@jursamaj]

@Sloppy Potato Watching yourself decompose would still be an afterlife, just not an interesting one. All evidence points to you just cease to exist. Why do you think otherwise?

[@Timbretwo]

If our Sun were the size of a single grain of sand, then Proxima Centauri would be about four miles away.

[@commscan314]

And also about the size of a bacterium.

[@prabinlamsal5125]

Who else is watching this after moving to proxima b?

[@flatbread6252]

Me

[@danielphil4976]

@Franklin Franklinson assuming someone doesn't hijack and delete KZbin

[@nuclear7622]

Daniel Phil that would be a sad future

[@cbradshaw876]

first!

[@coolingheat5644]

Mon Ster no

[@oldscribe6153]

I was delighted to find this video. I had recently bought all three of the Arthur Templar series for my grandson for Christmas. I have to confess I wrapped the covers of each book so that I could read them all without marking them. I really loved them. I think my grandson will, too. I don’t want to give anything away about the plot, but Proxima Centauri figures in the trilogy. If you like a cool read situated in speculative fiction, then it’s a well-written trilogy and worth a read. The trilogy shares the Banner ‘Arthur Templar and the’ The first one is The Curse of the Nibiru, The second one is The Secret Codex, and the last one is the Serpo Gambit. I enjoyed each one. Banner Arthur Templar and the - 1 is The Curse of the Nibiru, 2 is The Secret Codex, 3 is the Serpo Gambit. I enjoyed each one.

[@eddscall]

"We will achieve this" I like your optimism

[@nadahere]

All telescopes will be displaced by our low cost [$5MM], compact telescope with a broad field magnification from 10X to continent resolution/discernability at 100 light year distance. Similar performance on the obverse side with table top sized microscopes where even the interior of the nucleus will be viewable. Path to atomic scale electronics manufacturing with real time defect removal for perfect outcomes each and every time. I think I'll call it the Tiny Wonder Scope

[@geoden]

Optimism is fine, as long as you don't rely on it!

[@spacewindu3824]

Love your vids. Your flat earth response vids are friggin hilarious!

[@chrisgould101]

So you're basically saying, flat earth exists or is a tangible occurrence?

[@blackpajamas6600]

Awesome and very informative upload, Professor Dave. I have a question for you, though, related more to science as a process than Alpha Centauri. It's an important one. How do you maintain such a positive perspective on our progress as a species? I'm specifically referring to your prediction that we WILL move beyond Earth to study and colonize distant worlds. I certainly HOPE this happens, but my analysis of humanity as a whole leaves me with a very pessimistic view of our future. Between our ignorance (or our unwillngness to promote scientific literacy in many parts of the world), our religious divisions, and our seemingly overwhelming desire to destroy each other, I just can't make a good case that the future you've hypothesized is likely. BUT I WANT TO. So, help? What gives you hope for humanity, and the planet upon which it depends?

[@ProfessorDaveExplains]

It's just sort of blanket optimism. But it's fairly genuine. We've gotten through so much as a species, why not make it other worlds?

[@playerscience]

Space never ceases to surprise me.😊😊😊.I love it.😁😁😁

[@amonguspro1450]

fun fact: if you watch netflix be sure to watch "lost in space" because alpha centauri is a part of the movie

[@isaacmoore6803]

Oh hey I remember that show lmao

[@aidn76official]

If proxima b is in a synchronous rotation, given that if it has a very similar atmosphere, the graph shows red (30 degrees celcius) which equvilents to 86 degrees fahrenheit. 86 F is normal for me in the state of florida. (during summer time it can easily get over 95). edit: im dumb so i changed alpha centauri b to proxima b

[@OgonoArtFamily]

This is awesome, I used to grow up on promixia centauri.

[@squidpile]

I’ll stick with living on TRAPPIST-1

[@jaworskij]

Where's dat@@squidpile

[@samindaperamuna6392]

It is possible with reincarnation

[@Guerrero_Momma]

Profesor Dave, though we have different opinions, I admire all your content!!! I'm a Bible thumpin', reformed, evangelical, young earth believer here with an appreciation for knowledge, facts, debate, & new perspectives! Your debates with Hovind and Weiss are some of my favorites! Enjoy learning new things through your channel ❤️

[@ProfessorDaveExplains]

Hopefully we can get you to learn enough that you shed this archaic worldview and embrace science.

[@normoloid]

Interstellar travel just seems a bit too distant thing when taking into account that we don't even have one moonbase yet.. Plenty of places to conquer in our solar system alone before taking longer trips, even if someone would manage to create some superfast propulsion today.

[@harshitjuneja9462]

Talking more on this, I would suggest the viewers to read the chapter "Should we colonize space?" from Professor Stephen Hawking's last book, titled "Brief answers to the big questions" -Spoiler alert- this chapter also talks about how we could get to the nearest exoplanet in 20 years.

[@snate56]

Do you think it possible for a planet orbiting both Alpha Centauri A and B to orbit in a figure eight path crossing over between the stars? Or perhaps a planet orbiting A that transfers over to B when they are at their closest approach?

[@ejosjek52.87]

That possible

[@ChemEDan]

Not stably - 3 body problem wikipedia for more info. Planets in binary systems have it rough, if they even get to form in the first place.

[@speed3971]

Professor Dave, When humans finally leave the influence of our earth's gravity and even our solar system, how will there perception of time be affected? I've wondered this after learning of the relationship between spacetime and gravity. It's all very confusing.

[@AOSMAKAKMS]

We will figure it out and make regions possibly? Based on which stars you could zoom in on from an onboard telescope, and they could write down descriptions of what it looks like, planets around it, just general information, and you could know where you were.

[@AOSMAKAKMS]

If you were near a star

[@_The_Worst_]

These future explorations sound exciting...🤗 It sure would be great to be able to live forever so I could see all the great things that are still to come...👌🏼💯✔

[@nathan9252]

6:13 That’s Tatooine, I heard there’s a guy that lives there named Luke Skywalker and he likes to watch the binary sunset

[@saoirsesonya2480]

Ohhh i didnt think of that at first

[@andrewmurray1550]

yeah but at least Alpha Centauri is in "a galaxy closer than you think" (i.e. OUR galaxy) not "a galaxy far, far away"

[@ejosjek52.87]

No life there

[@DunmoresMovieMania]

@@andrewmurray1550 -- Oh, it's pretty far far away, dude. None of us are gonna see it in our lifetime - even if they launched TODAY.

[@ejosjek52.87]

But proxima centauri b is like as far away from them as Uranus is from me

[@rz1166]

Too early to explore the galaxy, too late to explore the earth. But just in time for professor's videos 😇

[@ericparrish1515]

Somebody squirted gas x in the air or something cause the clouds to clear up a bit

[@II-mt9de]

Dont give up hope. In 1903 The New York Times newspaper stated that it would take humanity 1 million years to create a flying vehicle. Not only were they wrong but this also shows that we shouldn't give up hope since we don't know what the future has in store for us. We may even see a camera or a robot arrive to proxima centauri within our lives.

[@macleunin]

I liked the way you said “once we have technology for interstellar travel” like it is a inevitable , just a matter of time! 🤞🏻

[@FrankyPi]

@@bferfolja No, not really. Ever heard of Alcubierre drive? There are current projects that are researching such super advanced propulsion systems. Thing is, it is all theoretically possible, breaking no laws of physics, engineering part is the problem. When our tech gets advanced enough, things are gonna look a lot different.

[@clemj7928]

@@bferfolja Beliefs and Theories are not the same. Otherwise flat earth's would be right saying science is a religion :/

[@clemj7928]

@@bferfolja It is proven to be true. Have you used GPS before? A theory is not the same as a hypothesis. A theory is used to explain things that we have observed or predicted, and it has to work every single time. If it doesn't, then it is no longer a theory, but an approximation. The definition if theory is "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained."

[@FrankyPi]

@@bferfolja You have a big problem. Theory has nothing to do with belief and assumptions, that's what a hypothesis is. Theory in science is not nearly the same thing as the word theory in everyday use, which is constantly misused. Learn the damn difference. Theory, hypothesis, fact, law. There's a theory of gravity, theory of relativity, etc. All solidly proven stuff. Scientific theory explains precisely how a natural phenomenon works and all data that we have about it agrees with it, and theory also has predictive power, it can predict what should exist or happen, then time passes and we find exactly that. Einstein's relativity predicted gravitational waves, and 100 years later we detected them when we had sensitive enough equipment to do it. Gravitational lensing, another example. Einstein's relativity got confirmed more over and over again as time passed, we discovered things that his theory predicted a century ago. Hypothesis is an assumption that gets proven or disproven. GPS wouldn't work properly if satellites don't have Einstein's relativity equations in their software. Time ticks slightly differently for them. Without the compensation, error of gps would be up to 9 km.

[@FrankyPi]

@@bferfolja Google exists for a reason, know how to use it?

[@pressplay1072]

Speed of light is the ONLY key to travel ANYWHERE! SCARY STUFF

[@seven5677]

If the Alcubbiere Drive has been made. We can finally have Star Trek tech.

[@osmanaktas77]

Speed of light too slow

[@pump_6669]

@@seven5677 Im sure we have, remember, United States Space Force........(You dont think theyre just out there handing out parking tickets or looking to "boot" E.T.'s daily driver, do you???

[@seven5677]

@@pump_6669 I don't remember making this comment at all.

[@LakesideTrey]

What about time dialation? The faster you go, time moves for you exponentially slower, meaning that very close to the speed of light you could travel extremely far, even at the galactic scale.

[@ashleyladan]

This is the first time I've came across one of your videos. Thumbs up dude😁 plus your so adorable 😍

[@rajeshbhainasit5348]

o k

[@wendybell7349]

Would love to live long enough to see a lot of this space travels it’s getting very interesting I was born to early and happy for my great grand children to see and learn by it all

[@carsongbaker]

"the fastest probe we have ever built would take 50,000 years to get there" I lold pretty hard at that. Crazy

[@Madnikodemus2]

Hopefully the James Webb telescope will be able to get us some good pics

[@maxwellli7057]

Probably gonna get delayed again lmfao

[@aerofiles5044]

hopefully the james webb gets a good photo of the Apollo landing sites so flat fucks can shut the fuck up.

[@qpwodkgh2010]

Well, it needs to get off the ground first. Which seems to be a bigger and bigger problem.

[@maxwellli7057]

@@aerofiles5044 they'll just say its fake. Whatever evidence you give will become fake to them, even if they never saw the evidence in their life.

[@Hanaa_ishere]

@@aerofiles5044 The JWST will be orbiting at L2 point, with earth and the sun behind it. That means the moon will be very close to the sun from its perspective. As the JWST is an infrared telescope it needs its instrument to be cooled to almost absolute zero or else it wouldnt work, facing towards earth and the moon and hence the sun as a result would not be allowed.

[@leo_z0710]

You were born too late to explore the earth You were born too early to explore the galaxy

[@retrodull8796]

not true! Earth isn’t even fully explored. We only know like 70% of it. The deep oceans are as mysterious as the universe itself

[@leo_z0710]

@@retrodull8796 If somebody mentions "exploring the earth" it definitely means exploring new lands, new continents, new human races and the traditions and rituals they have, so exploring the earth is exploring not the water, but the land because that's where all humans lived and evolved. Exploring oceans plays a role yeah, but it's nothing compared to exploring LAND.

[@KarltonFranz]

@@retrodull8796 There is no frontier left on Earth. And as far as the ocean, there are basically just species to discover in the ocean. The entire ocean floor has been mapped.

[@classicbuster7774]

@@KarltonFranz I swear I’ve heard only 5% of the floor is mapped

[@retrodull8796]

@@KarltonFranz bruh just one search in google will show you that only about 15% has been mapped. Even if it was all mapped, we will never know what the fuck

[@chirilas5217]

Good lesson. Unique. Well done. Thaks.👍👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Frepzter]

Thanks man your videos are really educational and helpful. Your explaining is simple yet very precise and straight to the point you earned a sub.

[@jimjimsandburg2754]

Quite so. And we must not allow the Klingons nor the Romulans to reach Mars before us Earthlings.

[@poidpd]

oh my goodness thank you so much, i watched ur trappist video, and now im looking forward to these star system videos!

[@exoplanets]

Trappist 1 is amazing too

[@EVRose60]

The first thing I think of when I read "Alpha Centauri" is 1966 Lost in Space. 👍

[@mydogbrian4814]

Yes & it was supose to have been in 1997. And I seen old scify movies that had us landing Man on Mars in 1984.

[@EVRose60]

@@mydogbrian4814 Yes, they were a bit too optimistic with their forecasts back then.

[@garypeatling7927]

But they had doc Smith helping them

[@infinidominion]

This system brings the Barney n Betty Hill case to mind

[@mydogbrian4814]

@@infinidominion That was about aliens from the "Zeta Ritiguli" binary star system 40 light years from earth. - As inferred from the star chart that Betty drew under hypnosis as shown to her by the humaniod captain inside the ship on an illuminated wall screen map, which had linens of various thicknes connecting neighboring stars, which the alien said depicted the amount of travel between them. The line connecting the two binaries was very wide, she recalled, while the one with our sun was only dotted. - But it was showing from the Zeta Ritiguli perspective in the center. So a super computer was used to make a 3-d map that finally fit Betty's sketch. And finally deduced their origin to that binary. - Because of the close proximity of the two binaries. It was concluded that because the two stars are only 3 light weeks apart in distance and other stars within a light year, that it would have spurred astronomy in the correct path & interest in possible interstellar travel a lot quicker than possible here on earth. Since our nearest stellar neighbors are 75 times further away. & others are double that distance (excluding Binard). - A lot of debunking of the Hill's alleged UFO encounter have been passed in the years that followed because of the inconsistencies in their claims. - But you have to remember that theirs was the first. It was original. And beside the missing time, they didnt know it until 6 months after the abduction under repressed memory hypnosis. When repeated nightmare's & sleepless nights finally drove them to seek therapy. - The medical examination by the aliens was a horrific experance involving sexual intrusions which was a great social taboo back in 1960 and so difficult to talk about to strangers. But they reluctantly, did!

[@Philomats]

Very clear and scientific explanation of what’s out there.

[@larrytruelove7112]

This is why we need warp drive or hyperspace.

[@skippy8696]

In order to do that, we would have to discover how to contain vast quantities of antimatter and then how to utilize this as an energy source...at least if you believe Star Trek. I live in hope that it is :)

[@kevinquist]

very nice video. simplified with out being condescending. I'm a space fanatic. but trying to share my enthusiasm with my wife, who couldnt care less about space or planets, likes the more simplified explanations. but the last one I showed her. was geared at 1st graders ( i dont think it was suppose to be but they were uber condescending)

[@mydogbrian4814]

- Kevin, I share your dilemma and frustration. Everybody around me has either sports on the brain, or other mindless pursuits & cant be bothered to share in the wonders of the universe.

[@mejdalsari2296]

You can learn more about exoplanets with Physics Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iICno2ZmmdqFqMk

[@traceford4904]

Breakups in the distant future "I'm leaving you John. I'm moving back to Prima Centauri B!"

[@billclinton984]

I adore your videos

[@kws7725]

Im watching this because i give up on main stream media, nothing interesting an educational outside my front door.

[@chrisgould101]

🚀🚀🚀🌎🌎🌏👾

[@alexbowman7582]

To send a probe to the Centauri system in a reasonable amount of time would result in the probe resembling a teabag and being useless from multiple small particles hitting it at incredible velocities.

[@SilentShadowz]

You have a lot more faith in humanity than I do

[@thefirstsin]

lmao don't worry too much we'll see what happens in the future.

[@Seemutrengove]

Hey I am a female 19 from Australia ever since I was little my bedroom has a perfect view of the full moon and seeing the Centauri stars so clearly they are so big . This video made it clear and I like your voice tone and grammar thanks Dave for making this video ❤

[@ricthomas9788]

That’s where the Jupiter 2 was headed. We know what happened to them. Lost in space.

[@TheGunmanChannel]

Let's open up some wet markets on Proxima B

[@Human-gu2cx]

The Gunman man, Proxima B is a pretty bad name

[@TheAardvark211]

What could possibly go wrong?

[@dosomestuff1949]

@@TheAardvark211 hmmmmm i wonderrrrrr

[@pastoryoda2789]

Some star wars aliens are already doing that

[@ejosjek52.87]

Dies because proxima centauri b turns out to have no oxygen*

[@jonathan-zo9nh]

Imagine after 260+ years and we aqcuired faster speed than light, then just passing by the voyager and we can reached proxima centuari in no time

[@pastoryoda2789]

never gonna happen space travel is impossible for humans

[@kuntalpatra648]

@@pastoryoda2789 I can agree that we Cannot aquire the speed of light, but of what basis you're saying that space travel is impossible for humans? Can you explain?

[@pastoryoda2789]

@@kuntalpatra648 it’s impossible because there is no way to travel light years & there will never be a way

[@kuntalpatra648]

@@pastoryoda2789 haha how can you relate space travel to travel in light years only?. Space travel can be under a light year. There is no necessity that travel in space can only be in light years. it can be a distance from earth to moon or be a distance in light years. There's no certain boundaries.

[@DeluxeSlayer]

Nothing can go faster than the speed of light that is basic physics

[@w.d.g.]

Great video

[@arlosdad]

"If we could invent the right technology we could get there in a lifetime..." And if we had some ham we could have some ham and eggs, if we had some eggs.

[@dr.OgataSerizawa]

Your pessimism is more refreshing than all of the optimism in the comment section. Well done, my friend! 👍

[@terrysmith6702]

I can hardly wait until the James Webb Telescope is aimed at the Alpha Centauri System, it's going to be a whole nother story. :)

[@MateusViccari]

Maybe we can use our sun to amplify a radio signal and send a message to that system, who knows maybe there's an intelligent species living there who might be willing to share their knowledge about fusion technology, I'm sure nothing could go wrong.

[@chrisgaming9567]

And let's not worry about installing any sort of security systems or other safeguards in our radio facilities, I'm sure we don't need that

[@Northumbrian_Mapper]

this channel has became in my top 5 favourite youtube channels

[@zone47]

Whooo Hooo Christmas every 11 days!

[@Eternalsfan]

Christmas is eeww.

[@Slasher_YouTube]

@@Eternalsfan no you

[@marcopohl4875]

I think sending unmanned missions there, like in the docu-fiction alien planet, would be more doable, and I'd still be excited to see the footage that would return!

[@chrisgould101]

Would u ride the probe there

[@marcopohl4875]

@@chrisgould101 you do know what "unmanned" means, right?

[@chrisgould101]

@@marcopohl4875 is manned by the UN?

[@dagolsen5798]

my kids loved seeing this animation and now my daughter has christened you "fessor dave."

[@mr.worldwide4758]

Aww

[@lonniefarmer7067]

The longest safe amount of time one can spend on a Mars trip and stay is 5 years due to radiation and that only off the solar max as the magnetic flux prevents some radiation from leaving the sun and is converted to heat energy. 20 years is by every calculation fatal for any and all. Just a FYI.

[@jeffstowe4860]

Good stuff here. I remember as a kid my father would set up the telescope for us to look through. It was wild when he would point to a star in the night sky saying "perhaps it had burned out thousands of years before" and the light was still traveling through space to reach us at the speed of light. Thanks for this!!

[@filhanislamictv8712]

The Three body problem.

[@zacharygillespie4466]

Amazing stuff man- really gets a mans imagination going. Thank you, and keep it coming!

[@sumuqh]

I love these videos.

[@matthewb8229]

"What the hell was that?!" It's the earhtlings...they've gone..PLAID!

[@kaijsadragonborn119]

Matthew Brutosky I love you.

[@Kairi091]

In order to reach Alpha Centauri, we must go LUDICROUS SPEED!!

[@TheNasaDude]

If we di go plaid, let's at least have a mandatory procedure to stop gracefully

[@jakefromsf7580]

@@TheNasaDude Isn't that what the "Emergency Stop Never Use" is for?

[@dimo2081]

Alpha Centauri, the place where we find Tatooine

[@jonathanbhatty8592]

What about Krypton ?

[@TheGoat-dn4hx]

So wouldn’t the bigger start still give off heat to the planet in the “Habitable zone” making it too hot?

[@carultch]

Proxima Centauri is far enough away from the other two Alpha Centauri stars, that they would look like ordinary stars from the view from Proxima-b. You'd easily be able to tell them apart with the naked eye, but they would still look like stars rather than suns. The Alpha Centauri duo is 15000 AU from Proxima Centauri, or about 375 times as far away as Pluto is from the Sun. They collectively add up to about 2 solar luminosities, so this means they would glow about 1 nine billionth the brightness of the sun, in the sky of Proxima-b. The apparent magnitude of the Alpha Centauri duo from a planet of Proxima Centauri is about -6.6, which is similar to how bright the 1054 supernova appeared, that left behind the crab nebula. This is about as bright as 5 Venuses at maximum brightness in our sky today. We still aren't sure whether Proxima Centauri has a permanent gravitational connection and stable orbit with the Alpha Centarui duo, or whether it is on an escape trajectory where it is only temporarily part of their system.

[@adamgouldiii639]

Great content well explained , thank you .

[@andrewn4728]

I love science....I would really love to visit and explore the universe... it's beautiful

[@geoden]

I love science and have been in it all my life. That's why and how I stay real.

[@tuomos6787]

I love Jesus Christ!

[@kenking7260]

Nice work Professor Dave! You do such a nice job explaining these things clearly and consicely.

[@SalvatoreEscoti]

The #Trisolarans are watching us and they say: YOU ARE BUGS!

[@VeeTOHFan]

Born too early to see it, but at the right time to ensure it.