Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002ap%26ss.282..765m&link_type=abstract
Astrophysics and Space Science, v. 282, Issue 4, p. 765-772 (2002).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
3
Scientific paper
As the Sun evolves along the main sequence its luminosity will grow, leading to a steadily increasing solar flux at the Earth with corresponding catastrophic consequences for the biosphere. A novel means of avoiding this terminal route to human evolution has recently been proposed by Korycansky et al. which utilises a series of grazing fly-pasts of the Earth with a small solar system body to increase the orbit radius of the Earth over a timescale of order 109 years. This short paper will propose an alternative strategy which utilises a large reflective sail to generate a propulsive thrust due to solar radiation pressure. It will be shown that if the sail is configured to be in static equilibrium relative to the Earth, the centre-of-mass of the Earth-sail system slowly accelerates. This scheme offers some advantages in that the mass of the sail is four orders of magnitude less than the mass to be processed in the scheme of Korycanskyet al. for trajectory correction manoeuvres alone. In addition, the severe hazard posed by multiple grazing fly-pasts of the Earth by a small solar system body is avoided. Although offering significant advantages, any thoughts of engineering on an astronomical scale clearly requires a leap of the imagination and a ready use of liberal assumptions.
No associations
LandOfFree
Astronomical Engineering Revisited: Planetary Orbit Modification Using Solar Radiation Pressure does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Astronomical Engineering Revisited: Planetary Orbit Modification Using Solar Radiation Pressure, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Astronomical Engineering Revisited: Planetary Orbit Modification Using Solar Radiation Pressure will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1440652