The Illusion of Speed: Exploring Star Trek's Galactic Travel
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In the realm of science fiction, particularly in the Star Trek universe, the portrayal of starships zipping through the galaxy at incredible speeds has become iconic. The star streaks seen during warp travel suggest that these ships could traverse vast distances in mere moments. However, the reality of our Milky Way is far less accommodating to such rapid journeys.
The notion that vessels like Voyager could return from the Delta Quadrant in just over twenty minutes, as suggested by the speed of the stars whizzing by, is simply not feasible. If we were to accept the speeds depicted in the series, Voyager should have made its journey home in approximately 23 minutes, well within the time frame of a single double episode. The allure of countless civilizations and distant worlds passing by is undeniably captivating, adding depth and emotion to the viewing experience.
The velocities at which starships like the Intrepid and Constellation classes, including Enterprise-D, are suggested to travel are astonishing—around 50 light years per second. Interestingly, by the 24th century, the term "Milky Way" seems to have been replaced with simply "the galaxy."
Significant Inconsistencies
In the 1990s, my colleagues and I analyzed these speeds, revealing that if Star Trek-style velocities were accurate, then the journey of Voyager—which was said to take 70 years to return from the Delta Quadrant—would not allow for any visible star streaks.
As a humorous consolation, we speculated that perhaps within a densely packed star cluster, where stars are significantly closer together, one might witness stars drifting by slowly while enjoying a Riskelian mescal at Ten-Forward. The apparent speed of stars passing by during a typical view from the Captain's Ready Room or Ten-Forward makes it easy to estimate around 50 light years per second, assuming a distance of about four light years between stars.
Reconciling the Differences
Episodes of Voyager imply a travel rate of approximately 1,000 light years per year, which translates to around 3 light years per day, allowing for a direct journey from our Sun to Alpha Centauri, our nearest stellar neighbor, in just a day. This contradicts the expected star streak effect, which would suggest speeds thousands of times faster than light.
In both Next Generation and The Original Series, it’s consistently suggested that traveling between neighboring stars takes from hours to days, indicating a speed much slower than the star streak phenomenon indicates—creating a staggering discrepancy of roughly 50,000 times.
Some fans have attempted to rationalize this by claiming the streaks are merely particles of interstellar dust, a notion that raises eyebrows. If those points of light are not stars, then what explains their movement into streaks as ships enter warp?
The Enchantment of Space Travel
The thrill of traveling through the cosmos, witnessing countless worlds and civilizations, is a fantasy that Star Trek conveys with grace. The ability to glimpse three pre-warp humanoid civilizations in just a few seconds is tantalizing; imagine stopping by to observe their development or offer assistance, all while adhering to the Prime Directive.
What Would Real Galactic Travel Look Like?
This raises an intriguing question: what would actual travel through the galaxy at such incredible speeds entail? If we were indeed traveling at 50 light years per second, a visual representation of crossing the 100,000 light year span of the Milky Way would yield approximately 33 minutes of video footage. This would reveal an astonishing number of stars flitting past, yet still only a fraction of the estimated quarter-trillion stars in our galaxy.
What would this journey truly look like? This topic seems to be underexplored, as a search on YouTube yields little discussion. How frequently would we skim past a star? Should we expect stars to flare up like miniature suns? Would collisions with stars be a concern, akin to Rutherford’s gold foil experiment in physics?
Despite the fantastical elements, Star Trek maintains a sense of respect toward the complexities of interstellar life. At Warp 9.6, Voyager achieves a maximum speed of about 3 light years per day, but the star streaks are undeniably there, with myriad civilizations drifting by every second.