Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA #103 - There Are Always Possibilities

Hosted by Steve Nerlich. What can the anti-matter be? Dear Cheap Astronomy – How much antimatter is there and will it eventually annihilate? Antimatter is generally found in subatomic particle form – so there’s antiprotons and anti- electrons, which can rarely come to together to form an antihydrogen atom. But that’s about it, an anti-helium nucleus has been created in a laboratory but neither it nor any other more complex anti-nuclei have been observed in nature.   Dear Cheap Astronomy – How fast could we get to Alpha Centauri with current technologies? If we calculate the trip duration based on speeds achievable with current technology, a mission to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to ours, would take over 6,000 years. But even that is wildly optimistic when you consider the mass you need to accelerate up to those speeds.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].