The Carnival of Space 273 is up at WeirdWarp.

Who would sign up for a 40-year journey, especially if it turned out to be a one-way trip? Thoughts on interstellar crews and how to find them from Centauri Dreams.

Chandra Observatory blog – One of the lowest mass black holes ever observed in the middle of a galaxy has been identified.

Nextbigfuture – With 20 years notice, a volley or two of space-launched paintballs could deflect an asteroid.

Sung Wook Paek, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, says if timed just right, pellets full of paint powder, launched in two rounds from a spacecraft at relatively close distance, would cover the front and back of an asteroid, more than doubling its reflectivity, or albedo. The initial force from the pellets would bump an asteroid off course; over time, the sun’s photons would deflect the asteroid even more.

Nextbigfuture – A summary of Adam Crowls examination of nuclear rockets and beam propulsion for interstellar travel

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Brian Wang

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.

A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.