Warp Speed Would Not Look Like This

Sorry, Trekkies and Star Wars fans: People traveling at warp speed wouldn't see stars morph into those cool beams of light. British physics students say it would look more like a general bright glow caused by the background radiation of the universe, LiveScience reports. That's because of the Doppler Effect, which would move starlight from the visible spectrum into the X-ray range, while shifting microwave radiation from the Big Bang into the visible spectrum.

And it would be bright: "If the Millennium Falcon existed and really could travel that fast, sunglasses would certainly be advisable," says a member of the University of Leicester team. "On top of this, the ship would need something to protect the crew from harmful X-ray radiation." In fact, the extra X-ray radiation would hinder the ship's progress and require extra energy to overcome. Says another team member: "Perhaps Disney should take the physical implications of such high speed travel into account in their forthcoming films." (More spaceship stories.)