The Difficulties of Interstellar Travel, or How the Hell do I Calculate the Way Home?

Motion, Speed and Direction of Travel of Earth Through Space

based on a study by R. Schmidt July 21, 2006

Disclaimer:The figures included are approximate values for demonstration only! Please DO NOT use them to calculate actual flight paths. We are not responsible for people getting "Lost in Space"

Category:

Education

Tags:

• earth
• speed
• motion
• orbit
• space travel
• navigation
• Galaxy
• Universe

[wanttoread5]

Honest question about this proposed cumulative velocity. How can all these vectors in various directions be combined into a total figure? Sometimes these vectors don't compliment each other. For example, If a train is traveling 100km/h and I am walking towards the caboose at 10km, my total velocity is not 110km/h, but 90k/m. Adding perpendicular velocity to this makes no sense either.

[basketcase3]

No,no,no,,,,,,,,,

We are the absolute reference point.

We are sitting absolutely and perfectly still.

The Sun, Solar system and Universe is spinning like a mad thing around us.

[ekscholl]

@wanttoread5 Right, vectors cannot be added like their scalar counterparts.

[setnoset]

There is no fixed point, only a realitive point - the 'origin' in the cartesian coordinate system.

[kranchis]

this only tells the fastest motion. the velocity when earth moving on axis during the day which is the slowest when adding up the speed in orbital year did not tell :3 simple enough : speed of orbit - speed of axis [3-2=velocity we travel during the day]. but the earth is tilted 23. so the velocity 2+3 cannot achieve 70402.3 to be exact. but earth orbit is in egg shape. the closer the earth to the sun more faster. calculation to be exact is always plus minus and very complicated to explain. =D

[SuperOusie]

Do we ever get back to our space? and perhaps time?

[BiggerThinking1]

Ignores vectors but fairly accurate!

[gsamborska]

Brilliant! I didn't check on accuracy of your calculations but looked at some comments already posted. I like gps suggestion by arzuu82 but I think we need ups (u stands for universal ps).

[MrBronyface]

2:14 how can we prove that the sun moves in a linear path and the earth in a helical one?

[Quicksilvers888]

So, really the best way to do interstellar travel is just to stand still in space and find the approaching star as your destination point. Anyway, you will be traveling millions of miles per hour.  You wont even need propulsion but you will just use the galactic constant speed to travel. With that, you wont need a navigator. You need an astronomer to look for that approaching star and just wait in a point in space.