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ryschwith t1_iwcyvg9 wrote

rouge planet = Mars

rogue planet = lonely space wanderer

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wwarnout t1_iwdasxf wrote

So, they didn't mean "a red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for coloring the cheeks or lips."?

Such a simple typo diminishes the credibility of the article.

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ObligatoryOption t1_iwd24sr wrote

On the other hand such planets could serve as a better interstellar transport than just a spaceship. If you spot one that's going in the general direction that interests you then get on it with tunneling and mining equipment. Now you have a whole planet to use as multi-generational ship so you can benefit from gravity, exploit its mineral resources, hopefully find more nuclear fuel, build entire cities underground to protect you colony against cosmic radiation and asteroid bombardment, maintain heat, etc. I would think it raises the chances that your descendants make it alive to destination. The biggest problem is that you cannot accelerate it to get there sooner.

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Cat_stacker t1_iwd5h42 wrote

Eventually the people inside might not even remember that there is an outside, or think that it's a myth designed to keep them from tunnelling in forbidden directions.

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Thatingles t1_iwdl8g2 wrote

They could fill the time by tessellating tabbies I suppose.

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SilkieBug t1_iwd2wtz wrote

Exactly, it would be amazing.

You could also accelerate it if you use its mass to make mass accelerators or enormous rocket engines.

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daikatana t1_iwd71mb wrote

It would take much more energy to rendezvous with a rogue planet, and when you're talking about a generational ship (which would presumably be massive), that's a lot of energy. It would take far less energy to just go to your destination, and I'm pretty sure energy would be the most important factor on a trip like that.

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Routine_Shine_1921 t1_iwdfmja wrote

Not really, think of the planet as an Aldrin cycler. If you rendezvous with the planet, you only have to accelerate ships packed tight with people and some resources. Say, travel time to the planet at its closest approach is two years, but your actual destination is ten thousand years away. Then you only need to send up enough mass to support your initial group of people for two years, instead of all resources for the full population for 10k years.

Say such a planet where to pass through the solar system at some point. You could say, say, 50 Starships with people, tools, etc, which is within our capabilities. Then those people set up base on the planet. The planet provides everything required for the multi-generational trip.

Instead, putting up a generation ship of such size and meant to last that long, is well outside of our capabilities.

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beef-o-lipso t1_iwd0429 wrote

That's how the universe ends up in a few bajillion years. Galaxies so distant light from other galaxies can't reach it and all the stars dead. The universe is cold, dark and lifeless.

Have a cheery day!

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd137f wrote

i feel like time moves too slowly especially on our little blue dot. nearly 14 billion years to the universe’s name and we can’t handle a monday. what even is a monday? god it’s 4 am and i still haven’t slept because i keep talking to myself and i have two tests tomorrow

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GrandPriapus t1_iwd76al wrote

Heck I got excited when I saw the clock on the microwave in the lunchroom said 1:30pm. The. I realized no one ever bothered to set it back when we went to standard time.

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd7l2v wrote

i got exited when i found one of those cool pens with the rubber that erases it on the back. in a good 120 years we’ll all be replaced. in a good 200 years we’ll be forgotten completely, unless we were famous. then it might take 300. point is nothing matters. but i guess that also makes everything matter, yk. earth is small but we’re way smaller.

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DiamondHandsDarrell t1_iwdvrsr wrote

Do you mean to say I won't be remembered for working at a computer for 10 years and making a 95% efficiency gain in my job? 😔

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MsGorteck t1_iwda4j6 wrote

Your place too huh? First day at work after the switch and 1.5hrs before closing and the manager had not started any of the closing duties. (I'm not a manager so shrug.) 5min to close I ask if I can tip out, she says of course not, and looks at me like I have 3 eyes. I point to the clock and tell her we close in 5min and there has not been a delivery for 20. She says the clock has not been reset.... 🤦‍♂️🤐🤭😄😂 That got fixed!

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[deleted] t1_iwd26tx wrote

[deleted]

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd2n9t wrote

i think i’m gonna try white noise because my stupid brain doesn’t wanna shut up about life and how meaningful yet meaningless it is because i actually have 2 tests tomorrow and need to get some sleep

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markyty04 t1_iwdar2a wrote

our theories about the universe are not settled. it would be anti-science to say otherwise.

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phred14 t1_iwd2tzj wrote

Read "A Pail of Air" for a sci-fi take on Earth being yanked out of orbit by a passing<mumble> and becoming a rogue planet.

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Antiquus t1_iwd8x9i wrote

Fritz Leiber. I read that story 50 years ago. It's still a nightmare.

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phred14 t1_iwdfn0v wrote

Thanks. I know I first read it in the 60s or early 70s and I remember the plot. I liked Fritz Leiber.

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd3bd0 wrote

i’ll check it out, thanks for the suggestion

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Most-Hawk-4175 t1_iwd3g49 wrote

Imagine life evolving on that planet in the cold pitch dark. Perfectly normal for them but light and warmth are concepts they will never comprehend. And the planet moving close to a sun and heating up would be terrifying and would destroy their world.

Makes me think why we can't find aliens because they are so different from us we will likely never find it or of we did be able to understand or communicate with it.

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd3wn8 wrote

it’s crazy to think, those creatures, among literally trillions of other on billions of other planets, intelligent or not, are out there. living. existing. maybe thinking of us. thinking what carbon based life would be like, or what mammals would look like, or what oxygen tastes like. they’re just as interested and desperate to find alien life as we are, but the universe is just so, so, stupidly big that we may and probably will never find them, neither will they find us.

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Most-Hawk-4175 t1_iwd4p5f wrote

It's sad. There's got to be something out there. Some kind of life. But we may never know. Some scientists still seem optimistic about potentially finding life like SETI but others aren't so sure. It would be terrible if humanity destroys itself or gets wiped out somehow. It would be like we never existed and I wonder if this has happened to other countless civilizations.

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egregiouscodswallop t1_iwd3uiw wrote

Would you rather be in a space suit, all alone, drifting in space or on a breathing-friendly rogue planet in the pitch black? Either way, no one is coming for you but at least the HUD will keep you company while you die. On the other hand, you can stretch your legs on the planet (which, for nitpicking, has enough low-key geothermal activity to keep you warm despite having no nearby star)

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd4njl wrote

would probably spend 5 minutes before the planet killed me, i’d just run. maybe walk. probably bump into something. maybe fall. maybe lie down. scream. hug the planet. anything is better than being stranded.

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egregiouscodswallop t1_iwdvnbl wrote

Starlight might give you a horizon, but I agree. I'd trip and die within minutes. If there was ever water, it's ice by now. If there were ever soft vegetation, it's gone. I'd definitely scream just to see what it does. Maybe invent the most advanced form of echolocation that planet has ever seen

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Vagabond_Grey t1_iwdbi6d wrote

I vaguely remember someone found one about 100 light years from Earth. But, I doubt anyone can survive on a planet like that for long.

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McDanielsBurnerAcct t1_iwdh3ek wrote

Terrifying how? In terms of near-lightspeed interstellar travel, yes. In terms of being billions of miles from my ex, no.

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SilkieBug t1_iwd2q97 wrote

It would be amazing, surrounded by an unimpeded starfield all around, with no sun to make things too bright.

People would be living underground, using some sort of reactors to stay warm and recycle / produce atmosphere, hydroponics for food, simulations or walks on the surface for entertainment.

Why be terrified, it would be really cool.

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Stufy_stuf OP t1_iwd385v wrote

i get where youre coming from but you would be wrong. i think you’re underestimating just how cold and dark this planet is. it would be pretty much impossible simply landing on it, let-alone bringing the amount of people needed and resources including light and heat needed to build this underground city. great pitch though

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SilkieBug t1_iwd3uyt wrote

If we had the tech to reach a planet like this, it would be trivial to make a city on it, and to prospect it for useful resources.

“Dark” and “cold” means nothing when you have nuclear reactors that make light and heat.

Be more imaginative instead of being scared of the dark like a small child.

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