2
$\begingroup$

The well-received question in Astronomy SE What is the maximum transmission distance of the radio signal in the outer space which could still be understood? was asked in November of 2013 and so is way too old to migrate, but I think that it could receive some good answers here and would be of specific interest.

If asked today, I think it would be quickly migrated from Astronomy to here.

As far as I can tell we haven't explored the "maximum distance" for radio yet, especially to the level of detail asked about in the question; additional issues are mentioned besides path loss.

Since the time of posting, the Breakthrough Starshot initiative has been announced, and so the topic of very long distance communications has a renewed interest.

The question may need a little refinement, but I think it would do well here.

Question: Would it be okay if I re-ask this Space Exploration-related question from Astronomy SE here considering that it is six years old and therefore too old to migrate?

$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I agree it is clearly on topic here. Arguably, it is still on topic on Astronomy as well, but I think you'd get more answers here. $\endgroup$ – called2voyage♦ Jul 29 '19 at 12:48
2
$\begingroup$

First, I'd say that the existence of a similar question on a different SE site is not a valid reason to close as a duplicate. Askers are expected to check this site for previous questions before asking their new question. However, to expect them to check all of the other SE sites is just absurd. If you see such a question posted on this site, you may leave a link in a comment. State that it is a "similar question in <site>", do not call it a duplicate.

Second, what I have said above does not make it okay to merely copy questions from one site to another. If this is being done to gain reputation, that's dishonest, and experienced users ought to especially know better than to do it. But this needs to be enforced by askers showing restraint, rather than by closing questions. (I'm stating this as a general principle; I don't think it applies to what @uhoh is asking.)

Third, if the new question is altered to tie it more strongly to Space Exploration, or to correct flaws in the original question, then we should welcome such a question.

Specifically to the Astronomy.SE question, users were having a hard time answering that question because the constraints weren't specific enough. I would therefore recommend asking a similar question here that is specific to communications of the NASA Deep Space Network. That would (1) clearly tie it to Space Exploration, and (2) correct the flaws in the original question. Make sure you give credit to the old Astronomy.SE question, but note that your new question is different.

$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .