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How is observing distant astronomical objects like seeing back in time?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Objects studied by astronomers are so far away that it takes a significant time for their light to reach earth. For example, even in the case of the sun, what you see in the sky is not what the sun looks like 'right now', but what the sun looked like about 8 minutes ago ... because that's how long it took for its light to travel the 93 million miles from the sun to the earth. After the sun, the next nearest star to us is so far away that its light takes four years to reach us. So there's actually nothing visible to us in the sky that we see as it exists 'right now'.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoPicture this: You and your best friend are in constant communication, and your friend constantly
informs you of every little thing that happens in her life. But the method of communication is
"snail mail", which usually takes two or three days in transit. So, every time you read a line that
says "my brother just walked in the door, and he's taking a beer out of the fridge", you know
that it's not really happening right now, but it actually happened 2 or 3 days ago.
That's the situation when you look into the sky, because light takes time to travel from place to place.
Look at the moon, and you see light that left the moon 1.3 seconds ago. Look at the sun, and you see
light that left the sun 8.3 minutes ago. Look at the nearest star outside the solar system, and you see
light that left the star 4.4 years ago. And so it goes. You never see anything in the sky that's happening
right now. It's always something that happened some time ago. And of you're looking at stars, you're
seeing things that happened years ago.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoIt takes a really long time for light to travel the distance of the object. Therefore, the image that you're currently seeing, isn't exactly how that object looks at that moment.
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Hubble being in space does not have a problem of seeing which is caused by atmospheric blurring and thus can observe light at more wavelengths. Its only limitation is by diffraction in its optics
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The duration of Seeing Other People is 1.5 hours.
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Seeing Stars - 2005 was released on: USA: May 2005
What is the disease of the eye that results in a person not seeing distant objects?
short sight
What is difference between reading glasses and distant glasses?
Distance glasses are made for people who are nearsighted ( people who have difficulty seeing DISTANT objects but can see close objects clearly ) reading glasses are for people who are farsighted ( people who have difficulty seeing CLOSE objects but can see distant objects clearly ) Distant glasses come in a MINUS prescription and usually when you wear them, they make everything look SMALLER Reading glasses come in a PLUS prescription and they make the world seem BIGGER
Instrument that makes small distant objects visible?
An instrument that makes small, distant objects visible is a telescope. Binoculars and scopes are also used for seeing long distance.
What are some of the effects of astronomical seeing?
The North Star can be our compass when we decide to walk through the Sahara desert observing the night sky using our telescope. Our research will help scientists understand the solar system.
What Instrument used for seeing stars and planets is?
Telescope
What is a view?
The Dictionary Definition is: The Act of seeing or observing
What does observing means?
something to study by feeling and seeing
What does 'Doordarshan' mean in English?
Doordarshan is a combination of two words: "Door" (the oo is pronounced as in "ooh"), meaning 'distant'; and "Darshan" meaning 'seeing'. In an astronomical sense, the word refers to a telescope. In a spiritual sense, it refers to clairvoyance.
Is seeing and observations are the same?
Yes.Because what you mean by seeing is you watch it and while watching you are observing it with out you knowing.
Studying distant galaxies is described as looking back into the past What does this mean?
When we view an object in space, we are notobserving it "as is" we are observing it "as it was". What we are seeing, is the light that was emitted at that time.For example: A galaxy is 1,000,000 light years away. When we view it, we are seeing it as it was 1,000,000 years ago, because that is how long light has taken to get to us.The galaxy may well have been swallowed by a giant mutant turtle 999,998 years ago, but we will not know for another year.So we are seeing objects in space as that were, relative to their distances from us, not what they are. Eg looking back in time.
What is the difference between seeing and observing?
When you are seeing something, you are just looking at it visually with your eyes. When you are observing something, you are seeing it but are also mentally keeping track of what is going on.
Why is looking through a telescope like looking back in time?
Looking through a telescope is like looking back in time because light takes time to travel from distant objects to reach us. The farther away an object is, the longer it takes for its light to reach us. Therefore, when we observe distant celestial objects through a telescope, we are actually seeing them as they were in the past, since the light we are observing left those objects long ago.
