RE: extropian galactic colonization

Jones, Spike (spike.jones@lmco.com)
Tue, 05 May 1998 09:52:15 -0700


> > second, none of the nearest
> > four stars are a good bet for colonizing: the closest is too small,
> > the second and third are too close to each other, so that they may
> > have long since cast away their raw materials we need to build
> > things. the fourth closest is too small. and after that, they are
> > getting awfully far away... {8-[ darn it to heck. spike
>
>Hmm, I think you make a mistake here. If you can travel four or
five
>ly, why not six or eight? And then we are getting some interesting
>neighbors. It is indeed hard to travel interstellar distances, but
if
>can manage them there is no real difference between 4 and 10
>light-years.

this meme shows up in sci-fi a lot, that there is no real difference
between 4 and 10 ly, but there are a lot of good reasons why we
might not try to achieve the really huge numbers like a quarter
of the speed of light any time soon. so any interstellar flight will
take a loooong long time, requiring multigeneration ships, suspended
animation etc. but closer is better, if you do go with multigeneration,
and long lives are better than short.

seems to me the extropians might be the first
to solve some baffling problems with interstellar travel. we can achieve
.001 c with current technology. if people are made to live 500 yrs, then
only a few generations are needed.

ok heres the table in a tab delimited text file. the units are all
distance,
in light yrs.

distance X Y Z
4.22 -1.54 -1.18 -3.75
4.39 -1.64 -1.37 -3.84
4.39 -1.64 -1.37 -3.84
5.94 -0.06 -5.92 0.48
8.31 -6.52 1.65 4.88
8.60 -1.61 8.07 -2.47
9.69 1.91 -8.65 -3.92
10.49 6.19 8.29 -1.72
10.73 8.45 -2.04 -6.28
10.88 -10.87 0.58 0.15
11.35 6.45 -6.07 7.11
11.40 -4.77 10.30 1.04
11.42 6.49 -6.11 7.15
11.46 1.08 -5.69 9.89
11.63 1.09 -5.78 10.03
11.63 8.34 0.67 8.08
11.82 5.65 -3.16 -9.89
11.89 10.27 5.02 -3.27
12.12 11.01 3.60 -3.54
12.38 -4.59 11.45 1.13
12.77 1.89 8.83 -9.03
12.87 7.60 -6.53 -8.07
13.07 6.43 -2.73 11.04
13.42 -1.71 13.30 -0.66
13.86 -9.19 -8.39 -6.10
13.90 -5.17 -12.54 -3.05
14.22 11.30 0.26 -8.62
14.33 8.87 10.77 -3.29
14.36 13.97 3.04 1.35
14.70 -9.75 -8.90 -6.47
14.76 -0.56 -5.42 13.72
14.79 -1.38 -10.01 -10.80
15.06 14.16 -3.36 -3.86
15.06 -6.39 0.40 -13.64
15.33 14.23 -4.26 -3.78
15.75 -11.10 2.69 10.85
15.89 -9.19 4.71 12.07
16.06 -2.10 -7.14 -14.23
16.08 -1.93 -14.49 6.71
16.10 8.48 -6.30 -12.15
16.44 -1.17 -11.70 -11.48
16.44 7.19 14.63 -2.19
16.46 11.18 -3.69 11.50
16.58 0.39 -16.56 0.72
16.77 7.70 -14.67 2.58
16.99 16.29 1.10 -4.72
17.58 -3.44 0.19 17.23
17.70 -15.32 -7.62 4.55
17.90 11.70 -12.49 -5.23
17.98 3.50 8.58 15.40
17.98 -3.56 14.60 9.86
18.37 -17.42 5.42 2.18
18.55 2.30 18.37 -1.19
18.71 -5.14 -17.78 -2.71
18.80 2.56 -6.01 17.63
18.82 -0.81 17.45 -7.01
18.87 1.43 18.37 4.08
18.94 -0.60 -10.21 -15.95
19.15 6.28 -18.01 1.73
19.25 -12.81 -12.53 -7.03
19.34 -8.51 17.32 1.20
19.34 -8.74 -11.62 -12.76
19.41 10.10 2.20 16.42
19.46 -3.30 -17.09 -8.69
19.46 19.42 -0.92 0.82
19.51 -3.38 -17.12 -8.74
19.73 8.64 -13.40 -11.62
19.76 9.28 11.05 -13.49
19.91 4.28 -6.81 -18.21
19.94 -15.22 -12.14 -4.32
20.15 -1.03 -17.04 -10.71
20.15 -1.02 -17.04 -10.71
20.17 -9.17 8.09 16.05
20.23 7.87 -11.90 -14.34
20.37 19.00 -2.34 6.94
20.44 -13.05 -15.48 -2.75
20.44 -9.30 8.19 16.26
20.61 -2.99 -14.09 14.74
20.73 -4.88 15.47 12.92
41.63 24.38 -32.68 8.44
21.17 -5.83 -20.13 -3.06
21.27 11.29 -2.34 17.88
21.46 -5.02 -11.47 17.43
21.60 -19.23 5.14 8.38
21.84 -15.13 -14.04 7.15
21.98 16.60 -12.78 6.66
22.03 18.14 -4.24 -11.76
22.44 20.69 -5.88 6.39
22.73 -3.32 -18.32 -13.03
22.97 7.36 -7.80 20.31
23.50 18.13 14.69 2.82
23.57 -21.73 9.12 0.35
23.65 -3.74 -16.69 16.33
24.32 23.68 5.07 2.24
24.34 20.59 9.88 8.43
24.37 5.34 0.60 -23.77
24.40 -16.24 -15.88 -8.90
24.62 16.75 14.59 10.61
24.62 13.53 4.15 20.15
24.86 -22.59 -9.36 4.48
24.90 20.40 -5.81 -13.03
24.98 -17.81 -3.20 -17.21
25.06 20.98 -5.85 -12.39
25.17 -3.74 -24.87 0.93
25.29 3.16 -19.45 15.84
25.41 0.57 -25.37 -1.34
25.47 -22.66 11.51 -1.66
25.95 6.58 -8.54 23.61
26.12 20.51 -15.55 -4.44
26.16 -4.67 18.13 -18.27
26.16 7.83 24.76 3.17
26.22 -7.08 -15.92 19.59
26.27 0.71 -7.76 25.08
26.50 -2.42 -25.00 8.45
26.53 9.70 3.08 -24.50
26.55 23.69 -6.32 -10.17
26.55 8.04 2.25 25.21
26.56 13.40 6.23 -22.07
26.61 -9.86 17.39 17.56
26.75 -14.27 -20.79 -8.92
26.77 -25.81 -5.48 4.53
26.78 5.71 -20.62 -16.10
27.01 9.06 21.81 -13.10
27.27 -0.99 6.70 -26.42
27.29 -20.26 -3.01 18.03
27.38 -1.43 -24.20 12.74
27.62 -9.25 -19.85 -16.83
27.77 6.43 25.07 -10.07
27.79 -24.86 -8.85 -8.73
27.88 -22.75 0.88 16.10
28.01 11.85 1.04 -25.36
28.10 6.78 -1.95 -27.20
28.13 7.58 -25.16 10.03
28.17 24.73 -9.15 -9.92
28.24 0.65 26.48 9.79
28.34 3.89 27.67 4.75
28.36 -6.39 27.51 -2.56
28.41 17.08 18.31 -13.44
28.55 -1.04 7.01 -27.66
28.60 25.27 -13.20 -2.31
28.64 -3.50 -19.35 -20.82
28.73 7.30 27.64 -2.88
28.77 14.26 -21.29 -13.07
28.90 7.81 -25.85 10.30
28.97 -27.36 -2.98 -9.07
29.22 22.35 -12.74 13.86
29.24 1.83 26.96 -11.16
29.26 -22.00 15.98 -10.80
29.46 -24.70 2.66 -15.85
29.48 16.33 24.03 -5.00