Proxima Centauri - The Sun's Closest Neighbor

Proxima Centauri - The nearest star to our Sun

Every star has what is called a Habitual Zone. This is the distance from a star that receives the right amount of heat to sustain life. Earth is in the habitual zone of the Sun. If Earth was to travel too far away from the sun, it would become too cold to sustain life, but if it drew too close to the sun, the heat would evaporate the oceans. For life (as we know it) to survive, the planet it is on would have to be within the habitual zone of the star it orbits. So far, there have been no planets discovered to be within the habitual zone of Proxima Cantauri. Which means, as of yet, there are no planets known to orbit Proxima Centauri that would be capable of sustaining human life.

Proxima Centauri is 4.24 light years away from the Sun. In other words, if we could travel at the speed of light, it would still take us about 4 years and 3 months to reach Proxima Centauri.

Consider this. Light travels at approximately 186,282.4 miles per second. That is 11,176,944 miles per minute, or 670,616,640 miles per hour! Think about that for a second and let it soak into your mind. If we left the Sun and traveled at the speed of light, in one hour, we will have traveled over 670 million miles. You would have to travel that distance 37,142.4 more times before you reach Proxima Centauri.

Another little thing to think about. In the photo above, the picture of Proxima Centauri is receiving light from the star that took 4.24 years to reach us. To make that easier to understand, if the star known as Proxima Centauri was to explode, we would not see it until over 4 years and 3 months later.

Other stars and their distances....

Rigil Kentaurus = 4.3 light years away.

Barbard's Star = 6.0light years away

Wolf359 = 7.7 light years away.

Luyten 726-8a & 8B = 8.4 light years away.

Sirius (A & B) = 8.6 Light years away.

Black Hole Photo

Scientists have known about Black Holes for a long time. Some believe that every Galaxy has a Black Hole at its core. However, there has never been a photograph taken of a black hole. Afterall, how do you take a picture of something that is so powerful, that not even light can escape it? Do we not need light to take an image of something?

Well, scientists are working on a possible way to do just that. Here is the article.... New Telescope to Take First-Ever Black Hole Photo

Trips To Other Worlds

So let's say we hopped in a brand new 2010 Camaro and drove to another planet. How long would it take us? Below is the approximate amount of time it would take to drive from Earth to each planet at a comfortable 75 MPH. Non stop of course, so you better hit the bathroom before you leave.

Earth to the Moon = 221,331 miles / 75 mph = Almost 123 Days

Earth to Venus = 25 million miles / 75 mph = Just over 38 Years
Earth to Mars = 33.9 million miles / 75 mph = Just over 51.5 Years
Earth to Mercury = 48 million miles / 75 mph = Just over 73 Years
Earth to Jupiter = 365 million miles / 75 mph = Just over 555.5 Years
Earth to Saturn= 739.68 million miles / 75 mph = Just over 1,125.8 Years
Earth to Uranus= 1.6 Billion miles / 75 mph = Just over 2,435 Years
Earth to Neptune = 2.68 Billion miles / 75 mph = Just over 4,079 Years

As you can see, to drive the distance might be a little longer than any of us want to spend on the road. Even if it is in space and in a Camaro. But what about if we took an American Space Shuttle? The space shuttle orbits the Earth at about 17,500 mph.

Earth to the Moon = 221,331 miles / 17,500 mph = Just over 12.6 Hours

Earth to Venus = 25 million miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 2 Months (59.52 Days)
Earth to Mars = 33.9 million miles / 17,500 mph = Just over 2.5 months (80.71 Days)
Earth to Mercury = 48 million miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 4 months (114.3 Days)
Earth to Jupiter = 365 million miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 2 Years and 5 months
Earth to Saturn= 739.68 million miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 4 Years and 10 months
Earth to Uranus= 1.6 Billion miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 10.5 Years
Earth to Neptune = 2.68 Billion miles / 17,500 mph = Almost 17.5 Years

Still too long of a trip? Cant get enough vacation time? So what if we had a space ship from a good movie that travels at the speed of light? Light travels at the speed of 186,282 Miles per Second. Or 670,615,200 MPH.

Earth to the Moon = 221,331 miles / 17,500 mph = About 1.19 Seconds

Earth to Venus = 25 million miles / 17,500 mph = About 2 minutes, 14 seconds
Earth to Mars = 33.9 million miles / 17,500 mph = About 3 minutes, 2 seconds
Earth to Mercury = 48 million miles / 17,500 mph = About 4 minutes, 18 seconds
Earth to Jupiter = 365 million miles / 17,500 mph = About 32 minutes, 39 seconds
Earth to Saturn= 739.68 million miles / 17,500 mph = About 1 Hour, 6 minutes, 11 seconds
Earth to Uranus= 1.6 Billion miles / 17,500 mph = About 2 Hours, 23 minutes, 9 seconds
Earth to Neptune = 2.68 Billion miles / 17,500 mph = About 3 Hours, 59 minutes, 47 seconds

So just imagine that. If you pointed a flash light at Neptune and turned it on. That first ray of light would take almost a full 4 hours to reach Neptune.

Black Hole

A Black hole is a region of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that absolutely nothing can escape it. Not even light! Because light cannot escape it, there is no actual photos of one and quite literally, they are invisible.

Many scientists believe that there are millions of black holes in the universe and in some cases there are even what we call "Supermassive Black Holes". The supermassive black holes lie at the center of galaxies and in fact there is even one at the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Contrary to popular myth, the black hole is not a giant hole in space that sucks everything towards it and eventually into it. Around each black hole is a surface known as the Event Horizon. Around the Event Horizon, is another region known as the Schwarzchild Radius. One would have to cross into the Schwarzchild Radius in order to be caught up in the gravitational pull of a black hole.

To get an idea of how small this region is, if a black hole was to be the same size as our Sun, the Schwarzchild Radius would be less than 2 miles from the surface of the black hole.

Where do Black Holes come from?

When a star is burning, it is pushing its fuel outwards as it burns. When it runs out of fuel, it can explode into what is known as a Supernova. If a star that is more massive than 3 of our suns was to become a Supernova, it would leave a remnant behind that is completely empty of space. With the gravitational pull then being at zero, it would collapse in upon itself instantly, creating a black hole.

Imagine throwing a rock into water. As the rock passes into the water, for an instant, it leaves behind it an empty space. Instantly the water collapses in upon that empty space to fill that void. When a star explodes, it leaves the same kind of void and space instantly collapses to fill it. When the star is massive enough, the collapse is so powerful it creates a gravitational pull that is so powerful it becomes a black hole.