# Alpha Centauri

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 17, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667 "2008-03-17T17:50:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/21 "2008-03-18T19:37:47Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=Dr. Love]  
Very cool. Unfortunately, all we’ll find is xenofungus and mind worms.  
[/QUOTE]

Not to mention Isles of the Deep and Locusts of Chiron…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/22 "2008-03-18T20:22:20Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=Napier]  
Here’s another one. We know you can’t travel at speeds faster than c, the limiting relative velocity between objects that have mass. The so-called “speed of light”, as if light per se was somehow important in all this.

So, this absolutely and inflexibly rules out, say, a weekend jaunt to Alpha Centauri’s planets. To think otherwise you’d have to misunderstand physics, you’d have to be just plain incorrect.  
[/QUOTE]

Or be in possession of an Infinite Improbability Drive…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/23 "2008-03-18T21:50:08Z")

</div>

\>Or be in possession of an Infinite Improbability Drive…

Well, see, that’s the thing, isn’t it? You know how rare those are? Misunderstanding physics is way, way more accessible.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/24 "2008-03-18T22:35:24Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]  
Very cool. Let’s get cracking on building a FTL drive, and once we get there let’s all try, seriously try, not to screw up Nova Terra like we’ve screwed up Earth.

Cochrane? Zefrem Cochrane? Line 2.  
[/QUOTE]

I’ll get right to work on it! 😉

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/25 "2008-03-19T20:12:13Z")

</div>

It’s not Alpha Centari, but, for the first time, [methane has been detected on an extra-solar planet](http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080319/sc_space/keyorganicmoleculedetectedatextrasolarplanet).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667/26 "2008-03-19T20:19:46Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=UncleRojelio]  
It’s not Alpha Centari, but, for the first time, [methane has been detected on an extra-solar planet](http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080319/sc_space/keyorganicmoleculedetectedatextrasolarplanet).  
[/QUOTE]

Ooops, sorry, that was me. I had beans for dinner last night.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alpha-centauri/441667.md?page=1)