u/Distinct-Net7510

When we talk about humanity's future in space, the default answer is almost always "terraform Mars" or find an Earth-like exoplanet. But climbing into new gravity wells and trying to fix dead worlds seems incredibly inefficient compared to just building our own habitats from asteroid materials.

As the image suggests, an O'Neill Cylinder could theoretically give us:

Perfect 1G artificial gravity via centrifugal acceleration.

Completely controlled, custom-built climates and ecosystems.

Strategic radiation shielding.

The ability to remain mobile in deep space.

Are we too obsessed with planets just because we evolved on one? Or are rotating space habitats the true endgame for our civilization? Would love to hear what you guys think—where would you rather live?

According to Einstein's Special Relativity, as you approach the speed of light (c), time dilation reaches infinity and length contraction reaches zero.

This means from the "perspective" of a photon (assuming a valid frame of reference for the sake of the thought experiment), time doesn't exist. A photon emitted from the Cosmic Microwave Background 13.8 billion years ago, which just hit a telescope today, experienced absolutely zero time between its emission and absorption. It also experienced zero distance. To the photon, the beginning and the end of its journey happened perfectly simultaneously.

It essentially "time travels" across the entire universe instantly.

For the physics enthusiasts here: How do you mentally visualize this? If time and space don't exist for the very thing that illuminates our universe, does that mean our perception of time is just a localized illusion? Let's discuss!