Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by gech on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @03:59PM
(#13709094)
Couldn't you put some kind of "snowplow" on the front so it pushes the oncoming detritus away to the sides?
Re:Seven earth-sized planets discovered circling a star 39 l...
by temuze on Wednesday February 22, 2017 @04:38PM
(#13709400)
A reddit thread mentions that idea: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/12nls5/speed_kills...
"Going slow to avoid severe H irradiation sets an upper speed limit of v ~ 0.5 c. This velocity only gives a time dilation factor of about 15%, which would not substantially assist galaxy-scale voyages. Diffuse interstellar H atoms are the ultimate cosmic space mines and represent a formidable obstacle to interstellar travel."