I was having a discussion tonight with some friends and we were speculating about extra-solar exploration. The question was, which stars near enough to earth to make travel possible potentially COULD have earth like planets? I realize that this is more pure speculation than a factual question, so if this is in the wrong place (and if the question is actually intersting to get a few posts) then the mods are free to move to the right forum.
Some parameters. Lets assume that humans are able to develop a continuous propulsion system that can, say, achieve max speeds of .5c. Obviously there is going to be acceleration and negative acceleration times, so figure that in to potential destinations. In addition, lets assume that humans come up with a method to suspend life in status for some period of time so that the crew neither ages nor requires food/water, etc…or that nutrients are otherwise fed to the crew.
So, are there any stars close enough to actually get to (with the above assumptions) that MIGHT have earth like planets?
-XT