After watching Avatar movie, you might think that is there a planet like pandora in the universe? In this 93 billion light years big universe, there are estimated one to ten trillion orbiting planets and stars floating in the space. Is there any chance of having a planet like pandora where living beings like humans can survive?
WATCH VIDEO | Scientists Found Pandora Planet
The world’s most awaited film, avatar 2 illustrates a green planet where Naavi people lives extraordinary life with their fullest potential. While searching for extraterrestrial life nearby alpha Centauri, astronomers have found some interesting alien worlds like pandora. But to get there, it will take thousands of years for our existing rocket speed. However, einsteins theory of relativity gives a clue that we can travel to that world.
Pandora Is Located Near Alpha Centauri
In the Avatar film, Pandora is shown as located in Alpha Centauri A, which is about 4.37 light years away from earth. It is a fictional habitat planet directed by James Cameron. This planet is the fifth moon of a huge gas giant called “Polyphemus” which has 14 habitable moons having no rings.
In science fiction stories, pandora is one of the coolest habitable worlds and every science lover wants to know that is there a planet like a pandora in this vast and expanding universe.
In this article, we will explore amazing potential planets like pandora where are high chances to find a similar civilization to the Avatar movie.
Breakthrough Listen
Since 1980s astronomers are deeply investigating alien life and habitable planets from all around the globe. In 2015, Israeli billionaire, Yuri Milner, and Stephen Hawking announced a project called Breakthrough Listen. This project was designed to search for intelligent extraterrestrial communications in the Universe.
The project was founded with $100 million and thousands of hours dedicated to searching alien communications. It is one of the most exhaustive project for alien research in human history.
Later, in the research process, the breakthrough project got many signals from outer space that added more confidence for E.T. research. In 1689, astronomers realized that the brightest star alpha Centauri is orbiting a pair. In 1915 astronomers discovered a small, low-mass star called Proxima Centauri which is located 4.2 light-years far from the Centaurus constellation.
Alpha Centauri System
Alpha Centauri system has 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A, B, and Proxima Centauri. Alpha Centauri A and B are very similar to the sun in brightness and temperature.
Scientists think that there could be life at Alpha Centauri and Proxima B. It is considered to be the most likely habitable world in the system containing a similar size and distance from its star.
These stars rotate around an elliptical orbit and follow each other. It takes around 80 years to complete a full orbit for these stars. Alpha Centauri’s star system is 40 trillion kilometers from Earth.
Traveling at speed of light
It is more than 4 light-years away distance. If we travel at the 10 percent speed of light, it will take 44 years to reach Alpha Centauri.
The fastest spacecraft so far launched into space is the NASA-Germany Helios probe, which crossed at 250,000 kilometers per hour. At that speed, it would take the probes 18,000 years to reach the nearest star to the sun.
To reach there in a human lifetime, a spacecraft will need to travel at a 10 percent speed of light. It takes 44 years to reach Alpha Centauri at that speed. Also Read: Untold Science Behind Shiva
Now the question comes, why don’t we make a spacecraft that can fly at the speed of light and reach Alpha Centauri? The problem is our current understanding of physics.
According to Einstein’s special relativity, we can’t travel at cosmic speed. Because an object in space is heavier and we need infinite energy to move it at cosmic speed.
But there is a clue hidden in einstein’s theory. That is space and time can be warped.
You might have seen the warp-drive ship in star trek episodes. A highly advanced spaceship technology drives astronauts into the universe at the speed of light using the warping technique. Scientists believe that this is not just ascience fiction.
As per einstein, we can’t travel through space at the speed of light but there is no speed limit for the fabric of space itself. And this is new hope for superluminal travel.
Einstein’s Relativity doesn’t say directly that nothing can travel faster than light. But it says that it needs infinite energy to accelerate anything with positive mass to light speed.
In 1994, theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre developed a theory in which a “bubble” is constructed in space-time that could “twist” distances, shrinking the distances between two distant points.
If we observe space closely, it has many loopholes. Space is a moving element and the interesting thing is, we can bind it as well.
Warp Drive
Space companies like NASA and SpaceX are trying to develop warp drive technology on mars. Once scientists understand how to accelerate infinite energy, it would be possible to create a spaceship that can go at an insane speed.
In December 2017, NASA released a mission concept concerning the launch of an interstellar probe to explore signs of life on planets orbiting stars in and around the Alpha Centauri system. But the mission remains a concept due to fund allocation issues.
Scientists are still not sure about high-energy lasers for this mission. It is said that the proposed mission would be launched on the 100th anniversary of Apollo 11.
The spacecraft will reach Alpha Centauri by the year 2113. It is 44 years after its launch traveling at 10% of the speed of light.
Alpha Centauri system has three planets confirmed around Proxima Centauri. We don’t know what is the actual situation there. That orbit indicates that Proxima d is too hot to host life like earth.
In the Netflix series: lost in space, the Robinson family flies toward alpha Centauri to start a new civilization. But unfortunately, they got stuck on an unknown planet and faces several difficulties.
Before dispatching a human mission to these stars, huge research needs to be done. If we develop such a highly powerful space technology at rapid speed, we will be able to see its progress soon.
