Alpha Centauri, in the Southern Cross, is the nearest star to Earth at four light years. The next closest is Vega, at 26 light years distance. With all the stars in all the solar systems in the universe it seems impossible that we’re alone, said our French guide to the stars in San Pedro de Atacama. But at four light years, with current technology, it would take more than 40,000 years to travel to Alpha Centauri. "So, while we are not alone, we are alone," the guide explained to a crowd of tourists gathered in a circle around a candle-lit table in the desert. A few days after my enlightening adventure through the cosmos, I proved my French guide wrong. You don’t need 40,000 years or a $40 billion space ship to visit another world. All
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