[quote=TheUnknowable]
Why can't there be a habitable planet around it? Isn't it a G type star?At 10c we could get there in 6 months, but with cryostasis, we could bring folks with us. I didn't think that the Alcubierre drive (or more accurately, NASAs new version of it) had a max speed of 10c, but that that was just a reference speed. Even if it does, maybe they could be stacked, or some later improvement or field shape could make it 5x faster.I never read Escape from Terra. I'm going to bookmark it so I can read it (the webcomic, right?). The only webcomic I normally read grrlpower.
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(Yeah, the webcomic.)

It's totally possible to make an Alcubierre drive go "faster", it'll just use more negative energy. 10c would require the negative energy equivalent of the Voyager space probe, which is roughly the yearly output of all US power plants converted to negative energy. So, it would be extremely hard to create enough negative energy to give it a "speed" of 50c. Obviously, anything is possible, for all we know there will be a breakthrough that allows 1000c travel. Of course, you could always go with an antimatter drive. Not that I wouldn't join, I like semi-realistic sci-fi, but hey, look at my profile pic. Realism is nice, but not required.

As for the planet, it is totally possible for a habitable planet to be around Alpha Centauri. However, we probably would have detected it by now if it was there. That's probably why [i]Avatar[/i] was set on a moon (aside from the fact that you get to put a gas giant in the sky), it's just more believable.

Again, realism is not all that needed. I write a lot of stories about Gliese 581g, and that planet doesn't actually exist according to the scientific community. In fact, I go out of my way to explain that it is Gliese 581g. There are closer ones to write about, I guess I just kind of like that one. Might have something to do with a song lyric (Pushing the Speed of Light, personal favorite of mine), "20 years on your homeworld's track". The Gliese 581 system is about 20-21 light years away, and I like to explore the idea of STL interstellar society. That could be it.