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How can you see stars if they are millions of light years away?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Because 1) they are very bright, most of them are bigger than our sun 2) light travels very quicky when you look at them, you are looking at the star about hundreds of millions of years ago, as that is how long it takes for the light to get to here.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
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Which star is furthest away from the sun?
There are loads of stars all throughout our universe in millions of different galaxies. The furthest stars away from us in our own galaxy are going to be around 70,000 light years away, on the other side of our galaxy. But other galaxies containing stars will be millions of light years away. The furthest ones will be on the edge of the universe some 14 billion light years away.
When light from a star reaches earth is the star still there?
Yes. It is a common misconception that the light from a star takes millions of years to reach Earth, and that the star is dead by the time the light reaches us. This is false for two reasons. First, most of the stars you can see with the naked eye are no more than a few hundred light years away and some are less than 10 light years away, so the light we see from them was emitted hundreds of years ago at most, not millions. No star in this galaxy is more than about 75,000 light years away. Second, for most stars, a few million years is a fairly short time. Most stars last for billions of years.
How many light years away is Sirius the stars?
8.6 light years
How many light years away is the little dipper?
i cant say because the little dipper is made op of many differt stars and alls 7 stars r different light years away. 4 example, the star kochab is 126 light years away and the star pherkad is 480 light years away.
How many light years are there in stars that are in your sky?
It varies widely, the closest star other than the sun is just over 4 light years away, but most of the stars we see are a few dozen to a few hundred light years away.
Which star is furthest away from the sun?
There are loads of stars all throughout our universe in millions of different galaxies. The furthest stars away from us in our own galaxy are going to be around 70,000 light years away, on the other side of our galaxy. But other galaxies containing stars will be millions of light years away. The furthest ones will be on the edge of the universe some 14 billion light years away.
Does it sometimes take millions of years for starlight to reach earth?
Not for the stars you can see without a telescope. All of the stars you see at night are within a few hundred light years of Earth, so it does not take the light more than a few hundred years to reach us. There are stars in other galaxies that are millions or even billions of light years away. That light does take millions to billions of years to reach us, though the stars are too far away for us to thee them individually.
Why do stars are visible in the same size in sky at some distance eventhough they are originally situated millions of light years away?
1. stars "millions" of light-years away are quite invisable to the naked eye. 2. even stars a few light-years away are so "small" (they take up such a small part of your visual field) that they appear to be dimenionless dots: that is, they have location, but not size.
What does it mean when people look up at the stars and say seeing them how they were millions of years ago?
Generally speaking, this is a gross exaggeration. You see the stars as they were, at most, a few centuries ago. The reason is the light travels at a limited speed. In other words, it takes time to reach you. Distance between stars is measure in light years, which is the distance that light travels in a year. For example, if you look at a star that is 100 light years away, the light you see now left it 100 years ago. The stars you see at night are within the small part of our galaxy that is closest to us. Those stars are at most a few hundred light years away. A handful are less than 10 light years away. The only thing you can with the naked eye see as it was millions of years ago is the Andromeda galaxy, a massive collection of stars 2.5 million light years away. With a telescope you can see farther galaxies.
What is the distance of the stars you see at night?
If you mean, with the naked eye: anywhere between 4 light-years, and thousands of light-years; however, there are three galaxies you can see with the naked eye, two of which are about 180,000 light-years away, while the Andromeda Galaxy is 2-3 million light-years away. With powerful telescopes, on the other hand, stars and galaxies can be seen that are millions, and even billions, of light-years away.
Can faint background galaxies be mistaken for stars?
Yes. Far-away galaxies can be mistaken for stars and occasionally are. This is due to the galaxies being millions upon millions of light years (the distance light can travel in a year) away from earth.
When our eyes see stars have some of them have actually disappeared?
No. It is commonly stated that the light we see from the stars left them millions of years ago. This is not true. All of the stars you see in the night sky are, at most, a few hundred light years away. The closest of them, Alpha Centauri, is a little more than 4 light years away. So you see the stars as they were, at most, a few hundred years ago. A few hundred years is insignificant in the lifetime of a star.
When light from a star reaches earth is the star still there?
Yes. It is a common misconception that the light from a star takes millions of years to reach Earth, and that the star is dead by the time the light reaches us. This is false for two reasons. First, most of the stars you can see with the naked eye are no more than a few hundred light years away and some are less than 10 light years away, so the light we see from them was emitted hundreds of years ago at most, not millions. No star in this galaxy is more than about 75,000 light years away. Second, for most stars, a few million years is a fairly short time. Most stars last for billions of years.
How many light years away is Sirius the stars?
8.6 light years
What do stars show us?
Stars show us light that has traveled from it to our eyes, millions, or even more, miles away.
Why does the position of stars seem to change as seasons change?
The earth is rotating around the sun. Therefore the position of other stars (although millions of light years away) are in different orientation to that of the earth.
Why do scientist see the galaxies if they were millions and billions of years ago?
The galaxies beyond our own are millions to billions of light years away, meaning the light takes millions to billions of years to get here.
