Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2016

ASTRONAUTICS 23 O f all the spacecraft humans have ever built and launched, the fastest mover is the New Horizons, the NA- SA's probe that visited the Pluto system. If instead of Pluto its target had been the Alpha Centauri system, it would still today only at the beginning of a journey lasting almost 30,000 years. This gives us an idea of what can be achieved in terms of space exploration with the currently available means. Until last 12 April (the 55 th anniversary MAI-JUNE 2016 ds A lpha Centauri is one of the closest stars to the Sun, and also one of the brightest in the night sky. This will be the Break- through Starshot destination. [ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2/Da- vide De Martin] of Gagarin’s spaceflight and 35 th anniver- sary of the first Space Shuttle launch), being able of observing other stars close up in re- latively short time was a dream that only our future generations may see com-ing true. But on 12 April, from the One World Observatory in New York was made a stun- ning announcement: within less than half a century we may have well have reach-ed the Alpha Centauri system and hold in our hands pictures of any planet orbiting