From: quadibloc@invalid.invalid   
      
   On Fri, 19 Sep 2025 14:28:56 +0000, James Nicoll wrote:   
      
   > Bad News From Alpha Centauri A…   
   >   
   > There's a planet in the habitable zone... but not an Earthlike planet.   
   >   
   > https://reactormag.com/bad-news-from-alpha-centauri-a/   
      
   My initial reaction was that this was actually _good_ news, even if it was   
   less than the best possible news. We might not find a civilization there   
   to make friends with, or be able to colonize the planet, but from material   
   in the system, we could make orbital habitats around a planet with a   
   stable orbit.   
      
   However, upon reading your article, I see that it's actually a bit farther   
   away from Alpha Centauri A than a planet with an equable surface   
   temperature would be.   
      
   While that is in a way bad news, as it eliminates the possibility of a   
   planet just like Earth and with a stable orbit in the system, it doesn't   
   preclude an orbital habitat - just make the mirrors for catching sunlight   
   a little larger.   
      
   Even its eccentric orbit isn't a dealbreaker - make the mirrors adjustable   
   in size.   
      
   But that it's probably larger than Saturn? Oops. That means it probably,   
   like Jupiter (and, I think, also Saturn) has radiation belts that would   
   basically preclude putting any orbital habitats into orbit around it.   
   (Placing them in an orbit beyond those belts doesn't work because   
   radiation belts tend to have a long tail on the side away from the   
   primary.)   
      
   So I guess I do have to break down and admit that this is bad news.   
      
   John Savard   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)