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Three Neptune-sized Planets Found Nearby
WillAffleckUW writes "CNN reports the discovery of three Neptune-sized planets found in orbit around a sun 41 light years away. The star they orbit is similar to our Sun, and the planetary distribution is probably similar to our Solar System. Recent observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope last year revealed that HD 69830 also hosts an asteroid belt, making it the only other sun-like star known to have one. No word on if they have habitable moons, or monoliths yet."
Sometimes a coin lands on it's edge. Just like the third shot of TXP.
I don't think most of the kids dying over there 'like' war. It's the idiot president and his vice president, neither of which ever fought in a war, which are eager to send in others to fight.
It's got to be way off -- chemical engine technology won't get you anywhere near 1/3c, even launching a Sputnik-sized probe with a Saturn-sized rocket.
A quick Google suggests that the Voyager probes are travelling at about 1/20000c; New Horizons is somewhat faster again, but will still need ten years to get to Pluto (a distance of 5 light hours). My guess would be, if we used our largest available rocket and the smallest available payload capable of phoning home over multi light year distances, it might be possible to improve on that by a factor of 20, but you're still looking at millennia to get to the nearest star.
Nuclear fusion or matter / antimatter reactions are likely the only way to get anywhere near 1/3c.