Steer the Sun?

post by Shay · 2022-05-04T03:36:36.276Z · LW · GW · 3 comments

This is a question post.

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    4 Adele Lopez
    1 inwaves
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How could we steer the sun through space in order to travel to destinations of our choosing? The solar system moves through space at 370 km/s, twice the speed of NASA’s fastest craft, while supplying an ideal environment for humans. The problem is that it’s not necessarily moving in an interesting direction. So what might it take to change that? It seems possible in principle.

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answer by Adele Lopez · 2022-05-04T04:07:00.675Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Wikipedia has some ideas for stellar engines, the simplest being essentially half a Dyson sphere.

↑ comment by Lone Pine (conor-sullivan) · 2022-05-04T08:01:16.316Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

This makes me wonder what the math is on times and distances if we actually did it. I have so many questions of my own: How quickly could we rendezvous with the most convenient target star system? Would that star system be Alpha Centuri, or Bernard’s star, or …? How close would we get, in terms of a colony ship visiting the bodies of the other solar system: long it would take, how much delta-V, etc. How long would we stay in the vicinity, or could we stay indefinitely if we wanted to? Maybe we could even take other stars with us and build up a fleet, or send colonized stars in other directions to colonize the whole galaxy efficiently. Finally, are there risks of bodies colliding, or having their orbits ruined by the gravitational influence?

↑ comment by Shay · 2022-05-04T13:50:16.723Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Thanks for the link! It’s always fun when you have an interesting thought, do some searching, and then find out the idea is 100 years old.

The possibilities presented on Wiki seem so boring tho! Who wants to set out on a million year journey? What would it take to steer the sun to Alpha Centauri in 10,000 years?

answer by Andrei Alexandru (inwaves) · 2022-05-04T09:49:30.559Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I watched this recently and found it quite interesting. It has a bunch of references on this page.

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comment by Shmi (shminux) · 2022-05-04T05:11:57.997Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Anything that could change the Sun's orbit could be fruitfully employed to power a spaceship to near light speeds.

Replies from: Slider
↑ comment by Slider · 2022-05-04T12:52:46.114Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

In average case it seems so but I don't think this holds in all cases. For example the sun can withstand heat much better than spacecraft can.

comment by Slider · 2022-05-04T12:56:44.264Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Note that anything that leaves sols gravitational influence is going to inherit that 370 km/s speed. So its not like its lost by using conventional craft.