Return to No Stealth in Space

The assumption is not only that there is no stealth in
space but that the people involved aren't even trying to be stealthy,
knowing as they do that it is a waste of time.

Assume a civilization over at Alpha Centauri. Recent
simulation make it seem possible that one or more of the stars
could have terrestrial planets in the habitable zones. Assume
that the native of Alpha C have spread out across their system
using rockets much like the UberFusion rockets of old time SF:
One Gee Forever (or until they use up their reaction mass in
accordance with M/m = e^delta vee/5,000 km/s).

Let's say that the largest rockets are about the size
of an oil tanker. A quick back of the envelope calculation
suggests that a 500,000 tonne ship with a mass ratio of 4 and
an acceration of 1 G [1] and an exhaust velocity of 5000 km/s
might have a peak power output of 5^16 Watts (plus whatever
for ineffeciencies).

Could we spot this at 4.3 LY? Would we recognize it
for what it was?






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