Proxima b
Forourfirstinterstellartrip,it’s
ano-brainerthatweshouldgo
tothenearestexoplanet,Proximab.
TheEarth-likeplanetwasrecently
discoveredorbitingthereddwarfstar
ProximaCentauri,whichliesaround
4.2light-yearsaway.Proximabisa
rockyplanet,andiscloseenoughtoits
hoststartoallowliquidwatertoexist.
Couldlifebelurkingonitssurface?Kepler 452
Ifwehadawarpdrive,thisstarwould
beworthavisit.At1,400light-years
awayitisafairdistancetotravelbut
in2015NASAannouncedthatthisstar
possessesaplanetsimilartoEarth.
Thestaritselfisalmostidenticalto
theSun,theplanetisasfarfromitas
EarthisfromtheSun,andit’sabit
biggerthanEarth.Atpresent,it’sthe
mostEarth-likeplanetdiscovered.Wolf 1061
Just13.8light-yearsfromEarth,this
reddwarfstarplayshosttoa
potentiallyhabitableplanet.Itwas
discoveredbyastronomersfromthe
UniversityofNewSouthWalesin
2015andhasaradius1.5timeslarger
thanEarth.Asitshoststarissmaller
andmuchdimmerthantheSun,the
planethasafarshorterorbitthan
Earth.Itsyearisjust17.9dayslong.Orion Nebula
Astronomershaveusedground-
basedtelescopestoobservethis
faintsmudgeintheconstellationof
Orion,wherethousandsofstarsare
beingformed.TheOrionNebulalies
1,344light-yearsaway,andwhole
solarsystemsofplanetsarebeing
glimpsedintheirnascentform,
whileothersarebeingdestroyedby
radiationfromsurroundingstars.The centre of
the Milky Way
Withawarpdrivewecouldtravelto
thecentreoftheGalaxy,some
30,000light-yearsaway,andobserve
thevastblackholethoughttoreside
there.Itsitsinsideabright,compact
radiosourcecalledSagittariusA*–
astronomerswouldsalivateatthe
possibilityofwatchingasastarora
gascloudfellintotheblackhole.WHERE SHOULD WE GO?
PHOTOS: GET T Y, NASA X4, ESO ILLUSTRATION: MAGIC TORCH
With 17g of
antimatter, a
spacecraft could
cross one
light-year of
space in just
a decade