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Heroes

Stephen Hawking's amazing plan for getting us to the alien star Alpha Centauri.

Stephen Hawking recently announced that he wants to send spacecraft to Alpha Centauri.

Image from Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize Foundation.

Hawking made the announcement with Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner on April 12, 2016 as part of the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative.

"I believe what makes us unique is transcending our limits," said Hawking, as reported by Ars Technica.

This is huge because while Alpha Centauri is the star nearest to Earth (besides the sun), it’s still more than four light years away.

View of Alpha Centauri from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Image from ESO/DSS 2/Wikimedia Commons.

That's 25.6 trillion miles! To put that in perspective — if we magically shrank space to the point where the sun was just the size of a ping-pong ball, Alpha Centauri would still be nearly 800 miles away.

The biggest obstacle to achieving this journey so far has been that we don't have a spacecraft that can go anywhere near fast enough.

Image from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Wikimedia Commons.

The New Horizons probe that NASA just sent past Pluto is traveling at an eye-watering 36,000 mph, but it would still take it 70,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri.

So that’s why — according to Hawking — we’re going to build new spacecraft. Tiny spacecraft.

Yuri Milner holding an example of one of the chips that could be the brains of each probe. Image from Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize Foundation.

Instead of one large ship, the plan is to launch thousands of small gram-sized probes. The idea relies on computer chips becoming increasingly smaller and more powerful over time — a trend that so far has held true.

We're going to build tiny spacecraft ... powered by LASERS.

GIF from Breakthrough/YouTube.

Each probe would fly behind lightweight reflective sails — known as lightsails. The lightsails would catch light from big arrays of lasers here on Earth, which could provide propulsion (the probes themselves, meanwhile, could be powered by small radioactive batteries).

These tiny spacecraft powered by lasers could — theoretically — get from Earth to Alpha Centauri IN JUST 20 YEARS.

GIF from Breakthrough/YouTube.

The lasers could accelerate the craft to speeds over a thousand times faster than what any current spacecraft are capable of, says Breakthrough. They predict they could get the mini-probes traveling up to about 20% the speed of light.

Of course, yes, it'll take time to get this project up and running — about 20 years just for that — and then another 20 years for the craft to get to Alpha Centauri, followed by a nail-bitingly agonizing at least four-year wait to send any pictures the probes take back to Earth.

The price tag on this project? A cool $100 million.

Getting these mini-craft working won't just be cool — they could help prove that lightsails are a good idea.

Artist's concept of a lightsail craft. Image from NASA/Wikimedia Commons.

There are many challenges ahead for Breakthrough's mini-craft, like how to actually even send signals back to Earth from such a distance, but if the project is successful, it has a couple benefits. The mini-craft could take pictures of alien worlds, for instance.

But the biggest benefit could be the proof-of-concept test of the lightsails. If they work, they could become commonplace, helping us explore the solar system and the universe beyond.

But for today, the most important part of the announcement is that it’s about always reaching for the stars — and that's a very good thing indeed.

Image from Jemal Countess/Getty Images.

"Earth is a wonderful place, but it might not last forever," said Hawking in a statement reported by ABC News, “Sooner or later, we must look to the stars. Breakthrough Starshot is a very exciting first step on that journey.”

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Ocean Wise
Be Ocean Wise
Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

Health

Artists got fed up with these 'anti-homeless spikes.' So they made them a bit more ... comfy.

"Our moral compass is skewed if we think things like this are acceptable."

Photo courtesy of CC BY-ND, Immo Klink and Marco Godoy

Spikes line the concrete to prevent sleeping.


These are called "anti-homeless spikes." They're about as friendly as they sound.

As you may have guessed, they're intended to deter people who are homeless from sitting or sleeping on that concrete step. And yeah, they're pretty awful.

The spikes are a prime example of how cities design spaces to keep homeless people away.

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Prudential
Prudential
Sponsored

Meet the 18-year-old advocating for teen mental health, one inspiring podcast at a time

All images provided by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

Collins after being selected by Prudential Emerging Visionaries

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A changemaker is anyone who takes creative action to solve an ongoing problem—be it in one’s own community or throughout the world.

And when it comes to creating positive change, enthusiasm and a fresh perspective can hold just as much power as years of experience. That’s why, every year, Prudential Emerging Visionaries celebrates young people for their innovative solutions to financial and societal challenges in their communities.

This national program awards 25 young leaders (ages 14-18) up to $15,000 to devote to their passion projects. Additionally, winners receive a trip to Prudential’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, where they receive coaching, skills development, and networking opportunities with mentors to help take their innovative solutions to the next level.

For 18-year-old Sydnie Collins, one of the 2023 winners, this meant being able to take her podcast, “Perfect Timing,” to the next level.

Since 2020, the Maryland-based teen has provided a safe platform that promotes youth positivity by giving young people the space to celebrate their achievements and combat mental health stigmas. The idea came during the height of Covid-19, when Collins recalled social media “becoming a dark space flooded with news,” which greatly affected her own anxiety and depression.

Knowing that she couldn’t be the only one feeling this way, “Perfect Timing” seemed like a valuable way to give back to her community. Over the course of 109 episodes, Collins has interviewed a wide range of guests—from other young influencers to celebrities, from innovators to nonprofit leaders—all to remind Gen Z that “their dreams are tangible.”

That mission statement has since evolved beyond creating inspiring content and has expanded to hosting events and speaking publicly at summits and workshops. One of Collins’ favorite moments so far has been raising $7,000 to take 200 underserved girls to see “The Little Mermaid” on its opening weekend, to “let them know they are enough” and that there’s an “older sister” in their corner.

Of course, as with most new projects, funding for “Perfect Timing” has come entirely out of Collins’ pocket. Thankfully, the funding she earned from being selected as a Prudential Emerging Visionary is going toward upgraded recording equipment, the support of expert producers, and skill-building classes to help her become a better host and public speaker. She’ll even be able to lease an office space that allows for a live audience.

Plus, after meeting with the 24 other Prudential Emerging Visionaries and her Prudential employee coach, who is helping her develop specific action steps to connect with her target audience, Collins has more confidence in a “grander path” for her work.

“I learned that my network could extend to multiple spaces beyond my realm of podcasting and journalism when industry leaders are willing to share their expertise, time, and financial support,” she told Upworthy. “It only takes one person to change, and two people to expand that change.”

Prudential Emerging Visionaries is currently seeking applicants for 2024. Winners may receive up to $15,000 in awards and an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential’s headquarters with a parent or guardian, as well as ongoing coaching and skills development to grow their projects.

If you or someone you know between the ages of 14 -18 not only displays a bold vision for the future but is taking action to bring that vision to life, click here to learn more. Applications are due by Nov. 2, 2023.
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