Will we always be "observing"?

Hello everyone, I am from India. Have been an astronomy fan since childhood. Have also been reading this forum since quite a while. Looking forward to interact and learn from knowledgeable people here.

Now coming to the topic, let's say we detect intelligent life in our neighbourhood (10 LYs for example). We can "understand" each others languages. LSB would mean that the 2-way communication is basically useless. It would take 10 years for transmission to reach to the other side. So we can basically say goodbye to communicating with any intelligent life form, and the mere thought of traveling sounds like a joke.

Therefore will we always be in "observation" mode?

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So we can basically say goodbye to communicating with any intelligent life form, and the mere thought of traveling sounds like a joke.

Therefore will we always be in "observation" mode?

Please remember that many things that seemed like a joke to people not too long ago are now commonplace. Computers that play chess and beat masters, humans flying in heavier than air machines, and two-way rapid audible conversation from opposite sides of the world all seemed like jokes at one time. But here we are taking those things for granted. So too it might turn out with interstellar space travel and even perhaps in time with the velocity of interstellar communication. Only time will tell.

Well, there's a difference between soft hurdles and hard roadblocks.

Powerful enough engines for aircraft is not in the same class of problem as the speed limit of the universe.

Interstellar travel



Distance (ly)

Alpha Centauri 4.3 ly Closest system. Three stars (G2, K1, M5). Component A similar to our sun (a G2 star).


Barnard's Star 6.0 ly Small, low luminosity M5 red dwarf. Next closest to Solar System.

Sirius 8.7 ly Large, very bright A1 star with a white dwarf companion.

Epsilon Eridani 10.8 ly Single K2 star slightly smaller and colder than the Sun. Has an asteroid belt, might have a giant and one much smaller planet,[5] and may possess a solar system type planetary system.


Tau Ceti 11.8 ly Single G8 star similar to the Sun. High probability of possessing a solar
system type planetary system.

Gliese 581 20.3 ly Multiple planet system. The unconfirmed exoplanet Gliese 581 g and the confirmed exoplanet Gliese 581 d are in the star's habitable zone.


Antimatter rockets
An antimatter rocket would have a far higher energy density and specific impulse than any other proposed class of rocket. If energy resources and efficient production methods are found to make antimatter in the quantities required, it would be theoretically possible to reach speeds near that of light, where time dilation would become much more noticeable, thus making time pass at a slower rate for the travelers as perceived by an outside observer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_travel

A mere 10 years delay would be a godsend. In terms of our planet and race, having a conversation that "fast" would be better than we could possibly hope for.

It's not like we have to wait to be asked a question before deciding to respond. We know what their questions are going to be. Essentially, we just start educating them from the ground up. Beam them Encyclopedia Britannica. They will do the same. No one has to ask.

In terms of specific questions we may have, well, 20 years is a blip. How long did it take them to compose the message for the Voyager plaque?

Also note that we routinely set up delayed benefit missions every time we send a probe to the outer planets. Those missions take years to start returning data. No scientist will balk at starting a mission like this that won't pay off for 20 years.

...unless we find a way to send information faster than light...

Yes I get that any scientist would go mad if such a scenario were to happen.