Author: Universe Today

This article is originally published on Universe Today - Space and astronomy news website and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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Physics Astronomy Space Exploration

Is Faster-Than-Light (FTL) Travel possible? Dr. Harold “Sonny” White and Limitless Space

Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel: Spaceship with Warp Drive
Is Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel possible? Futuristic spacecraft in the initiating state of a warp drive. Image: Spaceship with Warp Drive on Deposit Photos

Is faster-than-light (FTL) travel possible?

Ever since astronomers found that Earth and the Solar System are not unique in the cosmos, humanity has dreamed of the day when we might explore nearby stars and settle extrasolar planets. Unfortunately, the laws of physics impose strict limitations on how fast things can travel in our Universe, otherwise known as Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Per this theory, the speed of light is constant and absolute, and objects approaching it will experience an increase in their inertial mass (thereby requiring more mass to accelerate further).

By Matt Williams

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Space Exploration Astronomy

Voyager 1 is Generating Random-Looking Telemetry Data

Voyager 1 in deep space
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, shown in this illustration, has been exploring our solar system since 1977, along with its twin, Voyager 2. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has technical problems, it is generating random-looking telemetry data, and as a result, the spacecraft doesn’t know where it is.

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Technology Astrobiology

When Will Humanity Become a Kardashev Type I Civilization?

NASA's Vision for Future Airspace Mobilit
NASA's Vision for Future Airspace Mobility: Advanced Air Mobility, with its many vehicle concepts and potential uses in both local and intraregional applications, is shown in this illustration. Credits: NASA

There are several ways we can measure the progress of human civilization. Population growth, the rise and fall of empires, and our technological ability to reach for the stars. But one simple measure is to calculate the amount of energy humans use at any given time. As humanity has spread and advanced, our ability to harness energy is one of our most useful skills. If one assumes civilizations on other planets might possess similar skills, the energy consumption of a species is a good rough measure of its technological prowess. This is the idea behind the Kardashev Scale.

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Physics

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity [A Summary]

Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921.

In the history of science and physics, several scholars, theories, and equations have become household names. In terms of scientists, notable examples include Pythagoras, Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Planck, and Hawking. In terms of theories, there’s Archimede’s “Eureka,” Newton’s Apple (Universal Gravitation), and Schrodinger’s Cat (quantum mechanics). But the most famous and renowned is arguably Albert Einstein, Relativity, and the famous equation, E=mc2. In fact, Relativity may be the best-known scientific concept that few people truly understand.

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Life on Earth

Early Earth was a Horrible Place for Life Because of UV radiation

Kepler-1649c artist conception
An artist's concept of what Kepler-1649c could look like from its surface. Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Daniel Rutter

Earth has had a long and complex history since its formation roughly 4.5 billion years ago. Initially, it was a molten ball, but eventually, it cooled and became differentiated. The Moon was formed from a collision between Earth and a protoplanet named Theia (probably), the oceans formed, and at some point in time, about 4 billion years ago, simple life appeared.

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