Re:Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail 2 prepares to go sailing...
by StreamBright on Sunday June 23, 2019 @04:03PM
(#20258325)
Can you rely on sunlight between star systems?
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Re:Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail 2 prepares to go sailing...
by abdullahkhalids on Sunday June 23, 2019 @06:18PM
(#20259039)
No. In fact, the solar irradiance gets fairly low even by the time you reach Saturn, because the power propogates via an inverse square law. Near Earth, which is 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) away from the Sun, you get about 1000W/m^2. Around Saturn, which is about 10 AU away, irradiance will be down to 1000/10^2 = 10W/m^2. So 1% of what you get near Earth.