What is the longest it could take for the light of a star to be visible with the naked eye? (It does take a very long time for starlight to reach us from where the star is, right?)
2006-09-19 07:29:35 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
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2006-09-19 08:33:44 · answer #1 · answered by spaceprt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, that's not an easy question to answer because it depends on the distance the star is away from where you are. Light travels at 186000 miles per second. So if you know how far away a star is then you can figure out how long it takes for the light to reach your eye. It takes about 8 minutes for the light from the sun to reach your eye and the sun is about 93 milliion miles away from Earth. Simple math will give you the answers! And just an fyi, a good number of the stars you see in the sky no longer exist and have burned out millions of years ago. It's taken that long for the light from that star to reach us so you can see it!
2006-09-19 16:26:56 · answer #2 · answered by joem_1701 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it really depends on how far the farthest star is from the earth. Our closest neighbor, in our galaxy, is 6 to 7 light years away, where a light year is the amount of distance light travels in a year. Theoretically, there is a limit to the size of the universe so however far that is would be the longest time for light to reach the earth. The light from many of the stars/galaxies we see is often millions or billions of years old.
2006-09-19 14:43:35 · answer #3 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you're asking how far away a star COULD be and we would still see it.
It would be within the Milky way galaxy. the furthest thing we can see with the eye (at 2.4 million light years away) is the Andromeda galaxy. But that is a billion, billion stars.
When you double the distance of a star, you halve (I think) the light coming in. I'll guess a 100 light years away... That's not based on any formula or knowledge, just a guess.
2006-09-19 14:39:25 · answer #4 · answered by words_smith_4u 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It takes one year for light to travel one light year. That is what a light year is. The distance light can travel in a year. It is about 6 trillion miles. It is not a measure of time.
The closest star is over 4 light years away, so its light takes over 4 years to reach Earth. The most distant thing you can see without a telescope is the Andromeda galaxy, but you can't see individual stars in it, only the combined glow of billions of stars in it. It is about 2 million light years away, so it takes light from there 2 million years to reach us.
2006-09-19 14:47:32 · answer #5 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are some stars formed at the begining of the Big Bang from which light hasnt reached us yet. These stars are moving away from the earth (and the earth is moving away from them) so fast that light hasnt reached us yet.
2006-09-19 14:48:20 · answer #6 · answered by A 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I won`T pretend to be an astromoner. "But" seeing as how we gage distance and time here on earth in seconds, minutes, hours etc, and distance in miles per hour. It is necessary to understand that due to the millions and billions of miles between planets it is more reasonable to gage distance in light years, the speed that light travels in one year. It`s rediculously high around 24,150,000,000 feet per second. So if a star or planet you have in mind lets say our sun you would find that it could literally burn out and we would still be seeing the light and feeling the warmth for many years to come.
2006-09-19 14:49:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars are suns and are light years away from us. A light year is the time it takes light to travel in one year. When you think of stars being hundreds of light years away, it boggles the mind.
For example: If a star 100 light years away and exploded today. We would still get light from it for 100 yrs. We still get light from stars that exploded hundreds of years ago. The reason we know that is the coloration of the light that we are receiving from the exploded star. Instead of bright white, it is a reddish color.
2006-09-19 14:49:25 · answer #8 · answered by Cal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no limit.It can be billions of years.Suppose a star is 50000 light years away from the Earth.So light from this star will take 50000 years to reach the Earth or to be visible to naked eye.Now, there can be stars which are 50000 times more distant than this star. So light will take 50000 times 50000 years to reach us from this star.Got my point?
2006-09-19 14:42:08 · answer #9 · answered by somenathsengupta 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That depends on the distance of the star you are talking about.
2006-09-19 14:34:51 · answer #10 · answered by bobzx2001 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have heard of stars that have gone out that are 2 years old already!
2006-09-19 14:37:44 · answer #11 · answered by londondude l 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋