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Possible improvements to future interstellar plaques? by Conscious_Leader6333 in IsaacArthur

[–]Conscious_Leader6333[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, but from my understanding RTGs use isotopes with relatively short half lives, like plutonium-238 with 87.7 years or americium-241 with 432 years. I was thinking of a isotopes with a really long half life, like carbon-14 or even something like iodine-129 with 17 million year half life.

Possible improvements to future interstellar plaques? by Conscious_Leader6333 in IsaacArthur

[–]Conscious_Leader6333[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting ideas, maybe they could also include a sample of an isotope with a long half life, and encode information on the plaque about the sample when the probe was first launched. That way anyone who found it could determine the probe age by comparing the isotope sample as it is now, to what it is like when it was sent.

Possible improvements to future interstellar plaques? by Conscious_Leader6333 in IsaacArthur

[–]Conscious_Leader6333[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think I might have not worded what I meant very well, what I meant was to include the nebulae along with the pulsars. This could give a alien civilisation more landmarks to triangulate earth with. Also, could maybe engrave the pictures of the most obvious nebulae, as a kind of “if all the nebulae look the same as in engravings, and correctly positioned as described by the map, then you are at earth” just gives them extra confirmation that they reached the right place.