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SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD

  • Writer: Prajwal Hiremath
    Prajwal Hiremath
  • Feb 23, 2019
  • 4 min read

Updated: Jun 22, 2019

A JOURNEY OF THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD

With the success of the New Horizons mission to Pluto, we've largely completed the preliminary exploration of our solar system. Now projects like Breakthrough & companies like Hbar Technologies are seeking to build the first interstellar probes -autonomous,sensor-studded capable of bridging the gulf between the stars .Now's the time to take a look at what's out there & select the most intriguing targets for our first interstellar.


BREAKTHROUGH STARSHOT

INTRODUCTION:

Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project by the Breakthrough initiatives to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail spacecraft named starchip,to be capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri star system 4.37 light-years away. .


Possible development time

20 - 30 years

Maximum Potential Velocity

0.2C

(216 million kmp)




ANTIMATTER PROBE

INTRODUCTION:

In a paper presented at the 2003 Particle Accelerator Conference in Portland, Ore., Jackson and Howe used NASA funding to outline a plan for a small antimatter interstellar probe that would only need 17 grams of anti hydrogen to travel to Alpha Centauri. With velocities touching a tenth of lightspeed, they estimate the probe would speed across four light years in only 40 years.

Possible development time

10-20 years(?)

Maximum Potential Velocity

0.4C

(432 million kmp)


OORT CLOUD

Outer Oort Cloud:

A special cloud of icy planetesimals &comets in the outer reaches of the sun

DISTANCE:

0.32 Light years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 1.6 Years

Antimatter 9.2 Months









Nearest star to sun & our hope for interstellar mission
Proxima Centauri

Proxima Centauri:

The nearest star & exoplanetary system to the sun.

DISTANCE:

4.22 Light years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 20.9 Years

Antimatter 10.5 Years




MISSION TARGETS:

  • Explore the Proxima b for signs of life or life like chemistry

  • Study Proxima's intense x-ray's flaring activity


A star of alpha centauri system
Alpha Centauri B

Alpha Centauri B:

The second ,smaller component of the Alpha Centauri system

DISTANCE:

4.36 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME

Light Sail 21.7 YEARS

Antimatter 10.8 YEARS

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Perform flyby of Alpha Centauri B's close-orbiting planet.

  • search for signs of exobiology.







third-closest-known system to the Sun (after the Alpha Centauri system and Barnard's Star)
Lumhan 16

Luhman 16:

Luhman 16 is a binary brown dwarf system in the southern constellation Vela. An L7 &T0 brown dwarf pair,separated by 3 AUs, with a period of 25 years.

DISTANCE:

6.5 Light years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 32 Years

Antimatter 16.2 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Explore the properties of the nearest known brown dwarfs & search for possible planetary companions.

  • Investigate the hot clouds,silicate rock & molten iron rains of Luhman 16a



It is the fourth-closest extrasolar system to the Sun
WISE 0855-0714

WISE 0855-0714:

A possible rouge planetary object between 3 & 10 jupiter masses.

DISTANCE:

7.2 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 36 Years

Antimatter 16 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Determine if WISE 0885 belonged to & was ejected from a star system.

  • Study the objects water ice clouds for signal of potential organic chemistry & biological activity.




Sirius B, is a star that has already evolved off the main sequence and become a white dwarf.
Sirius B

Sirius B:

Sirius B is also called "The Pup",

is one of the most massive white dwarf known &is the nearest white dwarf stellar remnant to the Sun.

DISTANCE:

8.6 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 43 Years

Antimatter 21 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Investigate the properties & nature of white dwarf stars.

  • Study the behavior of "degenerate gas" through the physical features of sirius B



The star is estimated to be less than a billion years old.Epsilon Eridani has a higher level of magnetic activity than the present-day Sun, with a stellar wind 30 times as strong
Epsilon Eridani

Epsilon Eridani:

The nearest young star to the system still the process of planetary formation Epsilon Eridani possesses inner asteroid &outer cometary belts & likely several planetary companions.

DISTANCE:

10.5 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 52 Years

Antimatter 26 Years


MISSION TARGETS:

  • Study the dynamic of the Eridani system as an analogue of the solar system .

  • Return images of "AEgir" {Epsilon Eridani b}& any other planets in the system.


Observations have detected more than ten times as much dust surrounding Tau Ceti as is present in the Solar System
Tau Ceti

Tau Ceti:

The nearest solitary G- type star to the sun, believed to contain a system of 5 planets , ranging from 2 to over 6 earth masses,& a debris disk with over 10 times the amount of material found in the solar system.

DISTANCE:

11.9 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 59 Years

Antimatter 29 Years




MISSION TARGETS:

  • Explore "Tau Ceti e",probably the nearest habitable "Super Earth".

  • Search for signs of exobiology.



Its diameter is 30% of the Sun's, but its luminosity just 1.2% that of the Sun. It may have once been part of the globular cluster Omega Centauri, itself a likely dwarf galaxy swallowed up by the Milky Way in the distant past. The discovery of two planets — Kapteyn b and Kapteyn c — was announced in 2014.
Kapteyn's star

Kapteyn's Star:

An ancient ,metal-poor sub dwarf that could be over 11 billion years old. It may once have belonged to the giant star cluster Omega Centauri, thought to be the core of a cannibalized galaxy- making Kapteyn's star the nearest extragalactic star to the sun.

DISTANCE:

12.8 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 66 Years

Antimatter 32 Years


MISSION TARGETS:

  • Search for signs pf either extant or fossil exobiology.

  • Explore the physical & geological properties of Kapteyn's two ancient "Super Earth" planets.



It is the 36th closest known star system to the Sun and has a relatively high proper motion of 1.2 seconds of arc per year. Like many red dwarfs, it most likely has a long rotation period of more than 100 days
WOLF 1061

Wolf 1061:

One of the nearest multi-planetary system to the sun. It possess three planets ranging from 1.3 to about 5 times the mass of the Earth.

DISTANCE:

13.8 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME

Light Sail 68.6 Years

Antimatter 34 Years





MISSION TARGETS:

  • Investigate Wolf 1061c, a "super Earth" residing within the stars habitable zone.

  • explore the effects of a red dwarf primary on the climate & evolution of planets.


It is a dense, compact stellar remnant that is no longer generating energy, having about 68% of the Sun's mass but only 1% of the Sun's radius
Van Maanen's Star

Van Maanen's Star:

The nearest solitary white dwarf to the sun.

DISTANCE:

13.9 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 69 Years

Antimatter 35 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Study Van Maanen's Star as an analogue for the Sun's distant future.

  • Investigate the star's recently discovered debris to ascertain the future fate of the solar system.




It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.56,[11] making it a fourth-magnitude star that is visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere
Delta Pavonis

Delta Pavonis:

At 6.5 to 7 billion years old,Delta Pavonis is just beginning the long process of evolving into a red gaint- making it nearly identical to the Sun in about 2 billion year's time.

DISTANCE:

19.9 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 99 Years

Antimatter 49 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Search for an exoplanetary system.

  • Understand Earth's future by studying the effects of Delta Pavonis increasing temperature on the climate of potential planets.







Fomalhaut, also designated Alpha Piscis Austrini is the brightest star in the constellation of Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the sky
FOMALHAUT

Fomalhaut:

Only about 400 million years old, Fomalhaut retains a thick planet-forming disk & possesses at least one large planet.

DISTANCE:

25 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 124 Years

Antimatter 62 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Explore the properties & characteristics of the planet "Dagon"(Fomalhaut b).

  • Study the process of planet-formation around a large blue star.


Arcturus, also designated α Boötis, is the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes, the fourth-brightest in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere
ARCTURUS

Arcturus:

Arcturus is thought to be roughly 7 billion years old & a close analogue to the far future,red giant sun.

DISTANCE:

36 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 179 Years

Antimatter 90 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Investigate at close-range an evolved giant star to understand the sun to understand the sun's distant future.

  • Search for signs of exobiology & if it exists, study its ability to survive it's star's red giant .



TRAPPIST-1, also designated 2MASS J23062928-0502285, is an ultra-cool red dwarf star that is slightly larger, but much more massive, than the planet Jupiter
TRAPPIST-1

Trappist-1:

An ultra cool dwarf star only about the size of Jupiter , TRAPPIST-1 hosts three Earth-Sized ,potentially habitable planets.

DISTANCE:

39.5 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 196 years

Antimatter 98 Years

MISSION TARGETS:

  • Search the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1b & TRAPPIST-1c for signs of biochemistry.

  • Assess the suitability of TRAPPIST-1's planets for human colonization.






The system consists of a G-type star and a smaller red dwarf.
Copernicus System [55 CANCRI]

Copernicus System (55 Cancri):

One of the first exoplanetary system discovered, the Copernicus system consists of a yellow star older & cooler than the Sun & a retinue of five planets.

DISTANCE:

40 Light Years

TRAVEL TIME:

Light Sail 198 Years

Antimatter 99 Years





MISSION TARGETS:

  • Explore the planet Janssen a carbon rich "diamond planet".

  • Search the water vapor clouds & possible moons of the planet Harriot for signs of life.




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