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Winchell Chung ⚛🚀 boosted
Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 1 hour ago

The wild "Starshot" project was conceived to design a probe that could reach Proxima Centauri in about 20 years.

Although project has gone dormant, it has yielded a lot of new ideas (many not widely shared, alas) about how to build a viable interstellar probe.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/10/starshot-is-a-success-part-ii/ #space #science #technology

https://www.centauri-dreams.org

Starshot Is a Success (Part II)

A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
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Winchell Chung ⚛🚀 boosted
Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 1 hour ago

This summary of the Starshot project by one of its team leaders is a bit defensive. But it's a fascinating peek into the minds of the engineers who deeply, passionately wanted to be able to send a spacecraft to another star within their lifetime.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/03/starshot-is-a-success-part-i/ #science #astronomy #space #tech

https://www.centauri-dreams.org

Starshot Is a Success: Part I

The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
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Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 1 hour ago

This summary of the Starshot project by one of its team leaders is a bit defensive. But it's a fascinating peek into the minds of the engineers who deeply, passionately wanted to be able to send a spacecraft to another star within their lifetime.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/03/starshot-is-a-success-part-i/ #science #astronomy #space #tech

https://www.centauri-dreams.org

Starshot Is a Success: Part I

The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
The figure shows a concept for the sail, about 5 m in diameter. Some studies show that at the velocity under consideration the gas and dust will pass through the thin sail with virtually no damage if it travels face-on. Only the payload would need protection. The sail can also be oriented edge-on in order to avoid such collisions, giving meters of material protection to the center. The payload is around the center, protected from damage due to incoming gas and dust.
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Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 1 hour ago

The wild "Starshot" project was conceived to design a probe that could reach Proxima Centauri in about 20 years.

Although project has gone dormant, it has yielded a lot of new ideas (many not widely shared, alas) about how to build a viable interstellar probe.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/10/starshot-is-a-success-part-ii/ #space #science #technology

https://www.centauri-dreams.org

Starshot Is a Success (Part II)

A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
A graphical summary of the Starshot concept to send a laser-sail probe to the star Proxima Centauri.
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Winchell Chung ⚛🚀 boosted
Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago

One of the largest structures in the known cosmos is hidden behind gas & dust in our galaxy.

A new study pierces the gloom & reveals the true extent of the Vela Supercluster: over 300 million light years wide, more than 100,000x as massive as the Milky Way.

https://www.sarao.ac.za/news/vela-the-true-scale-of-a-hidden-giant-structure-revealed/ #space #science #nature #technology

A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
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Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago

One of the largest structures in the known cosmos is hidden behind gas & dust in our galaxy.

A new study pierces the gloom & reveals the true extent of the Vela Supercluster: over 300 million light years wide, more than 100,000x as massive as the Milky Way.

https://www.sarao.ac.za/news/vela-the-true-scale-of-a-hidden-giant-structure-revealed/ #space #science #nature #technology

South African Radio Astronomy Observatory - NRF/SARAO

Vela: the True Scale of a Hidden Giant Structure Revealed - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory - NRF/SARAO

0:00 Astronomers have uncovered a massive hidden structure in the Universe that had remained concealed behind the dust and stars of our own Milky Way galaxy. Using a new hybrid technique that combines different kinds of galaxy measurements, an international team has revealed the true scale of the Vela Supercluster, one of the largest concentrations […]
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
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Corey S Powell
@coreyspowell@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago

One of the largest structures in the known cosmos is hidden behind gas & dust in our galaxy.

A new study pierces the gloom & reveals the true extent of the Vela Supercluster: over 300 million light years wide, more than 100,000x as massive as the Milky Way.

https://www.sarao.ac.za/news/vela-the-true-scale-of-a-hidden-giant-structure-revealed/ #space #science #nature #technology

A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
A map of the Local Universe highlighting the main superclusters. Vela, a massive hidden structure, is on the left. The image shows how galaxies flow through space and the large-scale “basins” that channel them.
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Adamas Nemesis
@adamasnemesis@social.adamasnemesis.com  ·  activity timestamp 6 days ago

One of the most obscure elements of the periodic table, yet crucial for high technology right out of science fiction: rhenium!

Read more at my #blog: https://www.adamasnemesis.com/2026/03/08/the-rhenium-age/

This post's featured image is John Martin's "Pandemonium".

#worldbuilding #materials #science #technology #metallurgy #metalworking #materialsscience #scifi #sciencefiction #future #futurology #futurism

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Hiti

हिति , in Nepāl Bhāṣā, is the word for a shared community water tap. Even in modern Newar cities, these ancient structures still pour out fresh mountain water piped through ancient underground filters and conduits. They are a place to wash, to talk, to drink, to meet the locals: a nourishing, refreshing social-ecological place.

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