[mongol]

> Right now the star is about 250 light-years away, but 2.8 million years ago it passed within 30,000 AU or half a light-year of the Sun. It may have passed as close as 4,000 AU from the Sun.

This blew my mind. I never considered that stars are moving relatively each other in this way. Or more precisely, what it meant for our solar system.

[silverquiet]

Sometimes people talk about hypothetical generation ships and the ethics of bringing children into such a situation where they will be expected to continue the mission throughout their lives. What’s funny is that in some sense we’re already on quite a large starship wondering near aimlessly through the galaxy. Obviously we could be treating it with much greater care than we currently are.

[hinkley]

If we never figure out FTL, if relativistic travel is hamstrung by blue shifting of particles and radiation in front of the craft, then the only other way we wander the galaxy is to hop over to a passing star.

The question is, can you make a ship fast enough to catch a star going past, or do you have to launch ahead of time. And do you have enough time in either case to decide if this one way trip is suicide or not.

Practically the window of opportunity for a favorable launch may not might not be that different than launching for Proxima Centauri. But at least you can soak up solar power and mine resources while you wait, instead of sitting in the dark the entire time.