SETI again

On Jul 28, 2006, at 6:27 PM, Robert wrote:

> actually they have taken photographs of objects in the ort cloud,
> barely a dot on the film, that is suppose to be about the size of a
> locomotive engine.

I'm sure that many Oort objects must be captured on existing photos,
and careful analysis will reveal a few, but at present, most will be
indiscernible.

I guess the real issue for starfaring space settlers is this:

If there is a 5 trillion mile gap between the Kuiper belt and the
Oort cloud, does this represent an inpenetrable barrier to diffusion
settlement? The edge of the Kuiper belt is 1% of the journey to the
Oort cloud. This seems to mean that colonists would have to undertake
a long crossing of several years to get to the Cloud (several
thousand years using todays technology), and once they do, they would
have little (no) trade with Kuiper colonies. Those settlements in the
Kuiper belt would be basically right next door to their Earthly
ancestors, when compared to their distance to their Oort cloud
descendants.

Also, if every star has an Oort cloud, it would be possible for the
colonists to simply "sail the galactic ocean" hopping from comet to
comet for supplies without ever actually entering the heliosphere of
a solar system for billions of years. Not only would they not be
bound to planets, they wouldn't even be bound to suns. The closest
suns to them would simply be among the brightest stars in the sky.
Very slight improvements in radiation shielding and genetic
adaptation would allow them to sail through the Orion Arm of the
galaxy, and even into the core. As the millions of years go by, and
the galaxy spins and spirals around them, these Galactic Ocean
colonists will be scattered about by the galactic current, spreading
to every corner of the galaxy with little effort on their part.

Perhaps SETI need not bother pointing their dishes at stars. Maybe
there's no one there. Perhaps all the colonists are in the blackness
and they shun stars and solar systems. Since 99.99999% of the galaxy
is interstellar (using the heliopause at 100 AU as the boundary of
the solar system proper), It seems logical that, if we can get there
at all, and if we can meet our energy and supply requirements, that
interstellar space is where most people will end up living. Once
settlements set out on the several generation journey to a star,
eventually they will get used to it and good at living. Perhaps they
will wonder why anyone would want to be bound to a star.

All this is if its possible to make the leap from the Kuiper belt to
the Oort cloud. The Voyagers have left the Kuiper belt. They should
be in the Oort cloud in a few thousand years. Hopefully, we'll be
waiting for them. Wouldn't that be something if the aliens who
discover Voyager with its golden record are our own descendants?

doug