Distance between stars

lurker623 · Post by **lurker623** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:09 pm

I know that the closest star our sun is Alpha Centauri, at about one light year . Are there stars that are closer than one light year to each other?

Are there planets around these stars?

Doum · Post by **Doum** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:19 pm

The closest star to our sun is proxima centauri and it is at 4.3 light years distance. No known star closer then that yet. May be a brown dwarf can be closer but none have been detect yet. May be within a few thousand years a star will come closer to our sun. Cya.

BMAONE23 · Post by **BMAONE23** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:22 pm

Lurker,
We have detected over 150 extra solar planets most of which orbit stars in rural neighborhoods. The problem is that we detect these by the wobble that gravity creates as the orbits interract. Unfortunately, stars that exist in areas where there are many in close proxcimity, are each in turn effected by the gravity of the other stars. Planetary induced wobble is much harder to detect in these cases.
So, yes there are groups of stars that are closer together than our 4.2 light years to Alpha Centauri, hence "Globular Clusters", but because of the way these stars interact, we cannot yet determine if any have palnetary bodies.
When the OWL telescope is built, we might be able to resolve individual planets around other stars. hopefully anyway.

lurker623 · Post by **lurker623** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:27 pm

Thanks for the correction. I honestly thought we were only 1 light year from Alpha and Proxima Centauri.

Have astronomers found stars, our Sun not included, that are less than one light year between each other.

Would that distance be close enough for the gravity one star to affect the other?

Doum · Post by **Doum** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:38 pm

LOL! Ya, Alpha Centauri wich is a 3 star system and Centauri A and B are at a distance equivalent to that of our sun and jupiter. (Aint sure tho its that close.) And proxima is a few month light year distance.

BMAONE23 · Post by **BMAONE23** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:30 pm

Yes there are many stars that are in astronomically close proxcimity to each other. Within 1/4 light year and closer. these stars tend to orbit each other around a central point (much like electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom but without the nucleus). They orbit a gravitationally centralized point. It is my belief that many globular clusters operate in this fashion.

lurker623 · Post by **lurker623** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:50 pm

I have theory....

Star systems that are close ( less than 1 or 2 light years )might be a nursey for intersellar civilizations. Distances of less than a light year would allow for "low tech" intersellar travel.

If astronomrs could idenify these types of star clusters, they could look for transmissions that indicate life.

Is this idea too science fiction for this group?

astroton · Post by **astroton** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:02 am

Sirius A & Sirius B are 20 AU apart.

1 light-year = 63240 AU (astronomical units)

ie. in light years they are 0.000316 LY apart from each other.

Sirius obviously is the brightest star in night sky at 8.67 LYs. (Rigel in Orion is at 400LYs. If you swap Sirius and Rigel that means Rigel at 8.67 LYs would have cast shadows on earth like moon.)

astroton · Post by **astroton** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:07 am

Look at Sirius A & B here.

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/ent ... r2005036a/

harry · Post by **harry** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 1:02 pm

Astroton nice collection

lurker623 · Post by **lurker623** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 6:22 pm

Do you folks have any suggestions for websites that "educate " someone on astronomy?
Would going to a community college be better than a website?

The motive behind the question is that I play a game with the Astronomy Picture of the day website. I look at the picture and try to guess the caption. This is sucking me into a general interest in astronomy.

S. Bilderback · Post by **S. Bilderback** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 7:25 pm

http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/

Beginners have told me they like this one.

astroton · Post by **astroton** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 10:48 pm

lurker623 wrote:Do you folks have any suggestions for websites that "educate " someone on astronomy?
Would going to a community college be better than a website?

The motive behind the question is that I play a game with the Astronomy Picture of the day website. I look at the picture and try to guess the caption. This is sucking me into a general interest in astronomy.

A good start would be reading books. Some of the early once, like George Abbell. Then Carl Sagan, Issac Assimov, not to forget Patrick Moore than modern astronomy & Physics, than internet. Internet is full of bluff too. Books show difference between facts & Fictions.

Empeda2 · Post by **Empeda2** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:18 pm

lurker623 wrote:Do you folks have any suggestions for websites that "educate " someone on astronomy?
Would going to a community college be better than a website?

The motive behind the question is that I play a game with the Astronomy Picture of the day website. I look at the picture and try to guess the caption. This is sucking me into a general interest in astronomy.

http://www.nineplanets.org is pretty good for the solar system.

Plus, there's some relative distance scales in this thread:

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ight=#6313

harry · Post by **harry** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:17 am

Hello Lurker

Read as much as you can, but! keep an open mind.

Alot of past books are very convincing and may trap your emotions into maybe one or two different models about the universe.

here are some links
http://www.bigbangneverhappened.org/
http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/universe.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... ng.html#c1
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... in.html#c1"
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... le.html#c0

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... at.html#c1

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/bang.html

http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/

http://www.astronomynow.com/

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jub ... ubble.html

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/ent ... lection/+3

http://www.plasmaphysics.org.uk/researc ... mation.htm

http://www.galaxytheory.com/#SHA

But!!!! there is more,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,later

Have a nice day

astroton · Post by **astroton** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:11 am

This is good one.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/strange/html/stuff.html

And if you can't digest everything, this one is good 2...

http://www.reasongonemad.com/columns/2004/universe.asp

lurker623 · Post by **lurker623** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 4:16 am

i have not had time to look through all the sites. .That you (guys?) have given me. i am working throuh them slowly Thanks fo you all.

The ones I have viewed have made understand how much fiction there is in science FIcTION. At the same time marvel at how complex astronomy is. What's kind of shocking is that our solar system is in the boondocks of our galaxy. I kind of thought we were special. Plus much our vision is obscured by bands of cosmic DUST!!! And that i am not looking at the present when I look out my window but the past.

Definitely bizzare!!

Empeda2 · Post by **Empeda2** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:45 pm

But deeply fascinating...hence why we're all here!

Welcome Lurker....