New Paper Says Aliens Might Slingshot Themselves Off Super-Earths
Ok, so last month, scientists posited the idea that maybe we haven’t met any aliens yet, because they live on a “Super-Earth” sized planet, and gravity there is so strong that it’s prevented them from having a successful space program. But now, a new paper has provided a solution to that problem: a slingshot.
Astrophysicist Michael Hippke, made the astute observation that it would be pretty difficult to launch a rocket from a Super-Earth sized planet, due to its high surface gravity and the extreme amount of power needed to achieve escape velocity.
This came in light of the recent discovery that Super-Earths, or rocky planets around 10 times the size of Earth, are the most common planets in solar systems we’ve observed so far. In fact, scientists believe they’ve just recently discovered one in our own solar system.
These planets would also have thicker atmospheres, shielding the surface from dangerous cosmic radiation and solar activity, creating even more favorable conditions for life to flourish. In short, there’s a really good chance life exists on those planets, and we’ve pinpointed about 1,000 of them.
That’s why scientists want to study them, but if there’s an indirect observation that could rule them out, why waste time? That was the point of Hippke’s observation and it provided a relatively new answer to the Fermi Paradox; if the universe is so vast, why haven’t we made contact with or observed extraterrestrial life?
But now in a riposte to Hippke, a new paper has argued that one way of overcoming such intense gravity would be a slingshot assist to traditional rocket propulsion, otherwise referred to as a tether-assisted space launch system. With a Super-Earth planet, it would require more than double the escape velocity and about 104 times the amount of fuel required to leave Earth. But not if you only need to get half way there…
This hypothetical tether would be attached to what’s described as a “skyhook” rotating with the planet’s orbital velocity. At some point the tether attached to the hook would pause momentarily at a lower altitude, allowing a launched rocket to dock with it, before being flung into orbit. This would save a significant amount of fuel and allow the rocket to use the planet’s gravity as an assist.
This idea seems to piggyback off the concept of a space elevator, although the paper acknowledges that a Super-Earth’s gravity would pull too hard on a space elevators cables to make the idea feasible. The material needed to build a tether that strong has yet to become a reality here on Earth, but scientists working with carbon nanotubes think they may have something soon.
If these hypothetical arguments just sound like sci-fi conjecture, it’s because they are, at least for now. But they could form the basis for future innovations in rocket propulsion, interplanetary space flight, and hopefully, discovering alien life.
Alex R. Howe, the author of this recent paper seems to hint that the concept of a tether-assist could be implemented with modern technology and would be especially useful for interplanetary travel, where fuel weight is such a tricky variable. Will Elon Musk take note?
About the Author
The Betty and Barney Hill Abduction
On the evening of September 19, 1961, Barney and Betty Hill, along with their dog Delsey, were returning to their Portsmouth, New Hampshire, home after a short vacation to Niagara Falls. They were traveling on Highway 3, just south of Lancaster, when they saw a bright light in the sky. Betty, who was in the passenger seat, watched the light move lower into the sky. At first, Barney thought it was probably an airplane. Betty, who had heard of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), was sure she was looking at a flying saucer.
The Hills stopped to get a closer look at the object and let Delsey out for a short walk. Barney remained curious, but just a little frightened. He got out of the car and used his binoculars, but still could not figure out what he was looking at. He stopped the car a few more times on the way home. He described seeing lights of all different colors and rows of windows on the object. He described the object as “pancake shaped.” At one point, he approached the object and could see several occupants inside, which scared him so badly he ran quickly back to the car to join Betty where she was waiting for him.
The couple then heard buzzing sounds and felt tingling sensations throughout their bodies, but ultimately, they drove home, where they went straight to bed exhausted. They did not wake up until late the following afternoon. They then realized the four-hour trip home from Niagara Falls had taken them seven hours. Betty noticed the dress she was wearing was torn in several places and had a pinkish powder on it. The powder was later examined by five different laboratories. None of them could identify the substance.
The toes of Barney’s good dress shoes were scuffed to the point he could no longer wear them. The binoculars strap was broken and looked like it had been cut. Both Barney and Betty were wearing watches at the time of their unusual encounter. Both watches quit working and never worked again. Shiny, concentric circles appeared on the trunk of the car that seemed to have some sort of magnetic connection. They noted a strange reaction from a compass after it was placed near the circles.
At her sister’s urging, Betty called the nearby Pease Air Force base to report the incident. As Betty and Barney each recalled the incident, they became convinced they had been abducted by extraterrestrials.
The Betty and Barney Hill abduction story was the first of its kind, but certainly not the last. Although the incident happened more than 50 years ago, it is still being discussed and analyzed today. Were the Hills really abducted? If so, what happened to them during their time on the spaceship? What and who did they see? How did they communicate? Where were the extraterrestrials from? Let’s find out what exactly happened in the aftermath of this historical milestone event.
The Air Force Investigation
Barney would have preferred to just keep the experience quiet and between the two of them, fearing that he and Betty would be viewed as “eccentric.” Betty won their brief argument on the issue and on September 21, she called the Air Force to report their experience. Major Paul Henderson visited them in person and wrote a report of the interview dated September 26, 1961. It’s unclear whether or not Henderson viewed the Hills as credible; a National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) report concludes that there was “insufficient data in the Air Force files.”
