Stephen Hawking: Humans Must Leave Earth to Survive
We must leave this planet before we get hit by rocks or become part of a Ben Affleck movie

Marcus Yam (Blog) - December 1, 2006 2:08 PM
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5178

[caption300=http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/3227_large_hawking.jpg]Stephen Hawking - Image courtesy GrayWizard.net[/caption300]
In a rare interview, Stephen Hawking said to the BBC that humans must move to another solar system in order to ensure the survival of the species. “Once we spread out into space and establish colonies, our future should be safe,” he said. Hawking made a similar suggestion back in June.

He believes that life on Earth could be wiped out by a nuclear disaster or a massive asteroid hitting the planet causing Armageddon with its Deep Impact. He said that, since we have no similar planets on our solar system, we would “have to go to another star” to find a suitable habitat.

Before humans could even dream of such a move, we would need to develop a viable means of transportation. Hawking proposed “matter/anti-matter annihilation” propulsion. He explained: “When matter and anti-matter meet up, they disappear in a burst of radiation. If this was beamed out of the back of a spaceship, it could drive it forward … It would take a lot of energy to accelerate to near the speed of light.”

Even at near-light speeds, it would take six years to reach a new star. While Hawking, 64, may not see our escape from Earth in his lifetime, he still wishes to see the planet from space. “My next goal is to go into space; maybe Richard Branson will help me.”

Hawking was recently awarded the Royal Society’s Copley medal, their highest honor, for his work in theoretical physics and cosmology leading to classifications and further knowledge of black holes.

Lord Rees, president of the Royal Society, stated “Stephen Hawking has contributed as much as anyone since Einstein to our understanding of gravity. This medal is a fitting recognition of an astonishing research career spanning more than 40 years.”

In a statement issued by Hawking after learning of the award he said “This is a very distinguished medal, it was awarded to Darwin, Einstein and (Francis) Crick. I am honored to be in their company.”

There are potentially a lot of resources out there.

*groan* I hope the writer of the article was docked a week's pay for THAT one.....

I'm too intoxicated to articulate why right now, but I agree wholeheartedly with Hawking, and have for some time.Those who decry the space program fail to see the bigger picture of what the space program has done, and will do, for mankind as a whole, and those who do not understand that leaving this planet is an essential step for the perpetuation of the species suffer from a narrow, short-sighted vision.

"Armageddon." Not a bad movie... but a bad title.

It's inevitable, when you think about it.

Without even such a catastrophic event, climate change alone will make the Earth uninhabitable by our species eventually.

Unless we can guide and accelerate evolution within ourselves to adapt (an enormous and likely impossible ask), we will be extinguished and replaced as the dinosaurs were.

I agree with him.

Fully.

Six years at slightly less than light speed?

Is that all it would take? I had no idea there were solar systems that close.

As for me, I'm staying, so somebody send me a postcard.

Pussy.

The nearest star to Earth, not necessarily the nearest solar system. (And we have NO IDEA what the nearest inhabitable solar system is.)

Proxima Centauri (aka Alpha Centauri C) is 4.2 light years away, while Alpha Centauri A & B are 4.3 light years away. Barnard's Star is 6 light years away. Alpha Centauri A is in roughly the same star class as our sun, but we don't know if it has a habitable solar system. Good candidate, though. Beyond that, the neartest good candidate is, like, far.

"Without even such a catastrophic event, climate change alone will make the Earth uninhabitable by our species eventually."

Don't worry. You'll be dead by then Mel. Long dead. Me too, for that matter.

Well, what good is a star if there is no solar system?

Aren't we looking for a new planet.

Ideally, yes. Unfortunately, our currently level of technology does not afford us the ability to identify Earth-like planets (not just conditions, but size) outside our own solar system. Of the many planets we've discovered thus far, all are Jupiter-sized+ giants, and we know very little of their makeup. We've sighted none of them visually; all discoveries are based on mathematical calculations. It's a wobble in the host star that lets us detect them.

The good news, of course, is that where there are gas giants like that, chances are good there are decent sized moons, like Jupiter's Europa. The bad news, of course, is that it would take a mission lifetimes to verify that information.

Our first best chance to get off the planet and sustain ourselves is either a terraformed Mars (even if limited in scope) or, maybe, Europa.

I think the depths of the oceans on this planed are the future.

I don't believe we can or ever will be able to terraform a planet.

There's nothing down there. Trust me.

If anything stands in our way, it will be human nature, not science. Theoretically, it should be possible, given the right existing conditions. I believe Mars could be made habitable, in a highly limited capacity (with with lots of tech helping us out even after we're done), given a large enough effort. Thing is, unless someone needed the planet to win a war or to make a gajillion dollars, the massive effort needed to do it wouldn't happen.

That the process would take hundreds of years is a GIGANTIC roadblock, of course.

Terraforming is but a pipe dream until we just plain figure out how to live outside our own world, of course. We need to figure out how to create self-sustaining, long-term, off-planet habitations first.

Mankind will never colonize any location outside this solar system.

Mankind will never colonize one of the other planets in this solar system.

I could beat Stephen Hawking in a fight.

I disagree with one of Jay's statements.

I don't know about all that stuff, but I know that we will have to leave planet Earth if we ever hope to find signs of intelligent life.