Posts by J.D. Ray
Imagine, if you will, an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sol-like star. Now imagine that, from somewhere outside the solar system, a rogue planet, rocky and of roughly the same size and mass of the f...
I've just read this article and watched the accompanying video. Heady stuff, for sure. I'm particularly intrigued by the concept of a "solar gravitational lens telescope" somewhere out near the h...
I'm continuing questions rooted in the same idea: a manned mission to a planet around 61 Virginis. The first set of related questions was asked here. We're sending a crew of twelve. They'll be i...
I'm designing a mission to a planet orbiting 61 Virginis (27.9 ly distant), and want to stay within physics that we're aware of (e.g. no warp drive). I've asked questions here and here, and the an...
In this answer to another question, solar system-scale rail gun acceleration (and deceleration) was brought up as an alternative, and I found this intriguing. It's worth another question at least....
I just spotted this article about a metal foam that stops armor-piercing bullets as well as radiation. It's a press article, not a scholarly paper, so it may be complete bunk. And rifle bullets a...
Inspired by this article about the Kepler-enabled search for life-supporting moons, I came over here to learn more about the concept. I found this very complicated answer to a very complicated que...
A Russian billionaire wants to send postage stamp-sized probes off to Alpha Centauri using meter-square light sails. Regardless of the practicality of such an attempt, is there a lot to be gained ...
I ran across this article today about how moons might have moons. In Daniel Keys Moran's universe, an Earth-sized planet named November orbits a gas giant named Prometheus. November is inhabited,...
