Bus to Proxima: how far really is far?
If Voyager 1, our farthest space envoy, were headed towards Proxima Centauri (which it isn’t), it would take it about 73,000 years to arrive. That’s roughly the same amount of time since our ancestors decided to leave Africa and see what was beyond.
In other words, if we had set out during the time when Neanderthals were around, we’d be reaching our destination right about now. The thing is, Proxima is like crossing the street in cosmic terms—it’s just 4.24 light years away.
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