Problema Solution
The distance from Proxima centauri to earth is 4.2 light years if proxima centauri existed and their spaceships could travel 50 times faster than the apollo 10 human piloted vehicle speed record how many year would it take for them to get here?
Answer provided by our tutors
the distance from Proxima centauri to earth is 4.2 light years or in km that is
1 light year = 9.4605284 × 10^12 kilometers
d = 4.2 light years = 39.72*10^12 km
the speed of Apollo 10 was: v1 = 39,896 km/h
the speed of the proxima centauri spaceship is 50 times faster that Apollo 10:
v2 = 50*v1
since speed = distance/time => time = distance/speed
let t = time that proxima centauri spaceship need to get to the Earth
t = d/(50*v1)
t = 39.72*10^12/(50*39,896) h
t = 19911770. 604 h
lets convert the hours into years
1 year = 365*24 = 8760 h
t = 19911770. 604/8760 years
t = 2,273.03 years
It would take 2,273.03 years for the proxima centauri to get to the Earth.