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[Gentlefish]

Mars InSight landing successful! We have another probe on Mars!

[PTTG??]

Mars InSight landing successful! We have another probe on Mars!

Nice! And we have demonstrated interplanetary cubesats!

[Starver]

UK out of Galileo.

British (or Cymglish, give or take some celtic territories?) system needs a name, though, equivalent to Galileo. So I'm running through the obvious names Herschel, Halley, Moore. Maybe go for Hawking? Or go with the likes of Sharman or Peake, if life unfortunately overtakes either of them before we get our arses into gear, to properly qualify them as historical figures.

[Reelya]

What do you guys think of the idea that the extra-solar object that sped through could have been a derelict light sail? If so, then it would be the smoking gun we're after.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.11490.pdf

The main weird thing that needs to be otherwise explained is why the thing started to accelerate once it was past the sun, rather than slowing down. These two Harvard astrophysicists think that could have been because of light pressure. Obviously, it's most likely someone comes up with a normal explanation for this, however if there is none, then it makes the possibility stronger that there are previous explorers out there.

[Madman198237]

So note that this is, in the scientific community, considered to be something of a joke or less-than-serious article. The article that started all this only mentions the possibility of a solar sail in the last two paragraphs (And I think this one you've linked is the same article) and gives no serious or scientific treatment to the concept.

It would be cool, but that's a terribly inefficient way to shape and store a solar sail as I understand it. Also, solar sails can't really manage usable interstellar travel---their accelerations are just too slow, it'd take them longer than the Voyager probes to make it to another solar system IIRC.

[Starver]

'Space' is now Virgin territory.

(For the lesser of all definitions of 'space'.)

[Trekkin]

What do you guys think of the idea that the extra-solar object that sped through could have been a derelict light sail? If so, then it would be the smoking gun we're after.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.11490.pdf

The main weird thing that needs to be otherwise explained is why the thing started to accelerate once it was past the sun, rather than slowing down. These two Harvard astrophysicists think that could have been because of light pressure. Obviously, it's most likely someone comes up with a normal explanation for this, however if there is none, then it makes the possibility stronger that there are previous explorers out there.

As a general rule, approach *xiv with caution; it's not peer-reviewed. At any rate, outgassing is vastly more likely.

[Kagus]

I just realized that Fermi's Paradox is a paradox because it isn't a paradox.

[Max™]

If arxiv wasn't around it would be absurd but it is so important now that it is around.

[Trekkin]

If arxiv wasn't around it would be absurd but it is so important now that it is around.

There was a time when I would have agreed with you, but open access journals do what the *xiv set does with legitimate peer review instead of opaque and frequently apathetic moderation. Given the impetus *xiv had in creating open access, and the resultant migration of meh-tier articles there (and consequent enrichment of the *xivs with junk), one could say they were victims of their own necessary success.

[Max™]

Hey, the open access existing is arguably a result of arxiv legitimizing it.

[Trekkin]

Hey, the open access existing is arguably a result of arxiv legitimizing it.

Yes, like I already said.

There was a time when I would have agreed with you, but open access journals do what the *xiv set does with legitimate peer review instead of opaque and frequently apathetic moderation. Given the impetus *xiv had in creating open access, and the resultant migration of meh-tier articles there (and consequent enrichment of the *xivs with junk), one could say they were victims of their own necessary success.

However, its historical importance doesn't make it any less of a lucky dip now.

[Max™]

Was waking up and missed that while reading, fighting a cold.

[Kagus]

Was waking up and missed that while reading, fighting a cold.

The man-flu cometh.

[Hanslanda]

So, to return to god-killing abominations black holes. From what I've read of them, being spaghettified would be either only the most painful death ever, or time would dilate as immense tidal forces turned you into a greasy smear and you'd be stuck in nigh-eternal agony until the black hole exhausted itself via Hawking radiation. Or judging by the stuff already discussed, past that point also.