Writer/editor Centauri Dreamshttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mwyfm6yh6c2nUsing photosynthesis to answer Fermi. Interesting paper argues that planets billions of years older than ours may still be in microbial life stage because of surface conditions, particularly around red dwarfs. Is advanced life limited to G-class systems? https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/10/02/photosynthesis-a-new-angle-into-fermis-paradox/03 Oct 2026 17:22 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwyfm6yh6c2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mwbrprdnic2lSakurai's Object is a rarity, a star changing so fast that we can detect changes year to year. Highly unusual and a laboratory for processes involved in stars like our sun transforming into white dwarfs at the end of their lives. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/09/24/sakurais-object-a-stellar-rebirth/24 Sep 2026 17:27 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwbrprdnic2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mv3zkzdaqc2zKeep an eye on the Pandora space telescope. Small mission targets 20 exoplanets, observing transits, gathering data on their atmospheres, & weeding out stellar contaminating noise. Should be most accurate atmospheric data yet for exoplanets. Complements JWST. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/09/09/pandora-tuning-up-our-data-on-exoplanet-atmospheres/09 Sep 2026 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3zkzdaqc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mumwyxbzrc2yAn interstellar mission by crowdsourcing? Fermi Explorer would be built on the cheap and take 80,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri. Odd notion, but some interesting use of AI to work out trajectory solutions at perihelion, allowing higher velocities outbound. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/09/02/fermi-explorer-building-the-first-mission-to-another-star/03 Sep 2026 17:11 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumwyxbzrc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mt2a5pqu6k2jIf we ever do receive a message from the stars, can we figure it out? Alex Tolley takes the issue on, pointing out language issues even between humans, not to mention animals. How much of the experience of an alien species could we truly understand? https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/08/14/the-limits-of-understanding-between-species-and-the-issue-for-interstellar-communication/14 Aug 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2a5pqu6k2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3msg4exhfhs2wThe ratchet effect: How do we lock in scientific advance to prevent civilizational backsliding? Ian Brownlie offers a take on the Fermi Paradox that draws in Hanson's 'great filter' concept and might just explain the lack of observable ET civilizations: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/08/06/the-ones-who-look-outward/06 Aug 2026 13:08 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3msg4exhfhs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mrdequvdls26Moon or planet? The object around CD-35 2722B is definitely not an exomoon. But what to call a planet orbiting a brown dwarf that in turn orbits a red dwarf star? 'Planet' sounds right to me. More in today's Centauri Dreams: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/07/23/moon-or-planet-the-awkward-case-of-cd-35-2722b/23 Jul 2026 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrdequvdls26https://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mqtqsv5hik2gUseful propulsion upgrade via MIT, allowing both chemical & electric thrusters in the same package. Should add major capabilities to smallsats as miniaturization shrinks payload size & weight wherever possible. Demonstrator mission upcoming in November. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/07/17/new-propulsion-systems-for-deep-space-smallsats/17 Jul 2026 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqtqsv5hik2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mqc6mo6obk2zSelf-replicating technologies that destroy civilizations are one (dark) answer to the Fermi Paradox. Tipler used the idea to declare ET civilizations do not exist. But such probes may be impossible to build. Peter Marinko explains on today's Centauri Dreams: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/07/10/a-metallurgists-doubts-about-self-replicating-probes/10 Jul 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqc6mo6obk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mpqkkkqaok2rNew Horizons is moving toward the 'termination shock,' where the solar wind slows dramatically and the heliopause is not far away. Beyond that is interstellar space. More on what NH is telling us about the heliosphere and its implications for future probes: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/07/03/new-horizons-pushing-toward-the-termination-shock/03 Jul 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpqkkkqaok2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mp2ibbd6js2pOur galaxy could be filled with probes moving at .10 lightspeed in 650,000 years. Thus the 'where are they' problem. David Kipping now examines the problem at the cosmological scale. Travel between galaxies? The Fermi problem gets worse. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/06/24/the-intergalactic-fermi-problem/24 Jun 2026 17:53 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp2ibbd6js2phttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mon5ykgris2kAn unusual planetary system at HD 39474 includes an outer brown dwarf that shapes the orbits of two coplanar planets - one a gas giant - closer to their central star. This one challenges conventional thinking on gas giant formation. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/06/19/hd-39474-a-brown-dwarf-shapes-a-planetary-system/19 Jun 2026 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mon5ykgris2khttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mnznjp6eq22lAn outstanding contribution to interstellar studies now available. Coryn Baler-Jones' The Physics of Interstellar Travel is a college/grad school level textbook w/ quantitative analysis of every aspect of flight to another star. 1st textbook devoted to topic. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/06/11/the-physics-of-interstellar-travel/11 Jun 2026 16:30 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnznjp6eq22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mnngfeypqk2jComms specialist Dean Zierman considers technosignature strategies in recent work & adds serious skepticism about megastructure concepts. Refining of SETI to include archival & observational astronomy continues as field evolves. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/06/05/observations-on-the-search-for-technosignatures-a-review-of-possibilities/06 Jun 2026 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnngfeypqk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mn2yc3nkx22kTechnosignatures by the score are being considered for possible detection. How to search for each? An excellent & lengthy new paper from Clement Vidal & team goes through work up to this point & suggests future directions. Indispensable summary document. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/05/30/evolving-strategies-in-the-search-for-extraterrestrial-civilizations/30 May 2026 11:50 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn2yc3nkx22khttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mmgyhek4mc2jInterstellar clouds of gas & dust mark deep space as anything but empty. Relativistic spacecraft must factor in dust impacts or perhaps use interstellar hydrogen as reaction mass. Two new papers analyze 'turbulence' in deep space & Local Interstellar Cloud. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/05/22/turbulence-between-the-stars/22 May 2026 12:59 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmgyhek4mc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mlvh42heis2fPrzybylski’s Star may be the strangest object we've yet observed. Is it a technosignature? Very short-lived ultra-heavy elements like actinium, plutonium show up here. How? What is making these reactions on a stellar surface? Sagan had a thought on this. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/05/15/przybylskis-star-still-bizarre-after-all-these-years/15 May 2026 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvh42heis2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mlgy5rzmd22aA 'swarm' strategy for reaching Proxima Centauri, building on work at JPL and Breakthrough Starshot & moving into entirely new territory for optics & communications. A seriously innovative paper reviewed today on Centauri Dreams. Significant work. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/05/09/a-deeper-dive-into-the-proxima-centauri-swarm/09 May 2026 19:29 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgy5rzmd22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mkarayykkk2vDyson spheres & 'swarms' are theoretically great ways to harvest a star's energies, but are they stable? I look at new work by Colin McInnes on stability in a variety of huge constructs including stellar engines. Short answer: Stable only with great care. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/04/24/stability-of-interstellar-big-dumb-objects/24 Apr 2026 14:44 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkarayykkk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mihkuplfws2bJim Benford amplifies on Starshot's Phase I successes w/ video discuission available here https://www.youtube.com/@beyondcenter4047. Slides & commentary making case for reaching Alpha Centauri within this century. Beamed sails as only practical way for making this happen. Next: Testing in Starshot Phase 2.01 Apr 2026 20:48 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mihkuplfws2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mhxy5itssk2uLooking for habitable planets in very unlikely places. Speculations on red giant & even white dwarf prospects for living worlds. Can a sufficiently advanced technology move its home planet? https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/25/interstellar-choices-where-to-look-for-habitability/26 Mar 2026 16:03 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhxy5itssk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mgq46z6nbc2uWrapping up Starshot's success at Phase I with a detailed look at the advances made in materials, laser array physics and communications, much of it available in journals from the Starshot scientists, and more papers from other sources coming. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/10/starshot-is-a-success-part-ii/10 Mar 2026 19:29 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgq46z6nbc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mgb357ez4s25Don't dismiss Breakthrough Starshot, media reports to the contrary. Jim Benford w/ spirited defense of what Phase 1 accomplished. I'll be running part 2 of this piece early next week. Solid work on lightsail, laser beamer, data return. Over 50 published papers https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/03/03/starshot-is-a-success-part-i/04 Mar 2026 20:00 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgb357ez4s25https://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mfrfst6h7s2bPondering the language of contact if we ever do confront ETI. Ted Chiang's wonderful Story of Your Life features aliens whose language is non-linear & transcends time. Consequences for SETI if we ever run into anything this bizarre. And we might. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/02/25/the-language-of-contact/26 Feb 2026 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfrfst6h7s2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mf3akdbftk2yHow to reach the Solar Gravitational Lens? Propulsion options carefully dissected in new paper out of JPL. Sundiver trajectories, solar sails or possibly nuclear electric and hybrid missions now under discussion. 2035-2040 possible launch, but it's tight. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/02/17/propulsion-options-for-the-solar-gravitational-lens-mission/17 Feb 2026 18:56 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf3akdbftk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3me745t2n222hAstronomers are applying a new technique to study archival radio telescope data at low frequencies. Remarkable method may allow sweeping surveys of nearby stars, detecting star-planet interactions. Several early detections discussed on Centauri Dreams. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/02/06/a-new-tool-for-exoplanet-detection-and-characterization/06 Feb 2026 14:23 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3me745t2n222hhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mdifmbkvic27Beaming a lightsail to the stars demands a sail that can stand up to huge accelerations while remaining stable and on course. Holography is one solution. A flat sail carrying the holographic surface of a curved one is now being explored as a solution. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/01/28/holography-shaping-a-diffractive-sail/28 Jan 2026 13:41 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdifmbkvic27https://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mcukb456v22lWhy the continued silence from SETI? Eduardo Carmona lays out factors that imply life is abundant but technology vanishingly scarce. Fermi's famous question is answered by constraints the universe presents. Keep looking, in other words, but be realistic. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/01/20/cellular-cosmic-isolation-when-the-universe-seeds-life-but-civilizations-stay-silent/20 Jan 2026 16:11 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcukb456v22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3mcf6bok2zs2pPandora space telescope, now in space and going through system checks, will offer multiwavelength study of exoplanets transiting their stars. Highly important because we can filter misleading stellar noise from atmospheric data. https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2026/01/14/pandora-exoplanets-at-multiple-wavelengths/14 Jan 2026 13:26 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcf6bok2zs2phttps://bsky.app/profile/gilster.bsky.social/post/3ma6zfpl5rk2jDavid Kipping, brilliant Columbia astrophysicist, offers new take on SETI strategies called Eschatian Hypothesis. I explore its ramifications on today's Centauri Dreams. Is a truly ancient civilization indistinguishable not just from magic but from nature? https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/12/17/new-uses-for-the-eschaton/17 Dec 2025 15:53 +0000at://did:plc:zs2qb6vs5ipcaa22rlz5drde/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma6zfpl5rk2j