2006-11-15 02:56:59 · 21 answers · asked by kathrine s 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I remember one winters night in the west of Ireland there was no moon and no cloud cover and a fresh white covering of snow over the fields. I walked out down the lane and the whole place was lit up light day from the starlight alone. Absolutely beautiful.
2006-11-15 03:03:24 · answer #1 · answered by Yeah yeah yeah 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes!! defenitely.... All stars are light sources...
in simple english, every star is an immensly large ball of fire... fire produces light...
Even our sun is a star and it is very large.... but there are stars 100 times bigger than the sun... they appear so small to us because they are so far away.... the same way an aeroplane in sky appears so small.
As you might know, 1 light year is the distance travelled by light in 1 year, which will be millions of kilometers.
The stars we see in the sky are so far away fom us.... more than hundreds of light years away. So the light emitted from them takes hundreds of years to reach earth. This means, we are looking at stars that existed 100s of years ago. And in this long journey, light looses so much of its energy only a very small part of it reaches earth... so they look so faint.
So... for us in earth... the are not significant as a source of light.
In fact, if there are plannets around these stars like our solar system, then those stars act as "sun" for the plannets around them.
2006-11-15 03:46:45 · answer #2 · answered by MobiGuru 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, to nearby planets, if they are emitting radiation in the visible spectrum, our personal definition of light.
Having said that, our stars, except the sun are too far away to actually be a light source for us here on earth, all we can do is enjoy them in the night sky.
2006-11-15 03:08:44 · answer #3 · answered by Charles-CeeJay_UK_ USA/CheekyLad 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I say yes. Go into the country one night away from all the city lights and when there no moon or it come up later. Look up and be amazed. It is beautiful!!! It almost a solid light of stars once your eyes adjust. Heck, call me and we both go. Take a blanket and some wine and lay back and both be amazed.
2006-11-15 03:07:26 · answer #4 · answered by Snaglefritz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course - they are all "suns". But as with any light source, the further away from them you go, the less of a light source they become.
2006-11-15 03:03:04 · answer #5 · answered by philip w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They're not close enough to provide illumination, but they are light, much like our sun. From a long distance away our sun looks like a star in a black sky, too.
2006-11-15 02:59:36 · answer #6 · answered by Sweetchild Danielle 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just like our sun the light takes 8 minutes to get to us on earth,
But it takes millions of years to get here form the stars you see in the sky! most of them could of burnt out but we wont see that for millions of years!
2006-11-15 02:58:10 · answer #7 · answered by kissfromaroes 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As opposed to what, . . . a dark source?
Stars generate a great deal of light, very little of it gets to earth because of the distances involved.
2006-11-15 03:41:24 · answer #8 · answered by RationalThinker 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
In astronomy, luminosity is the amount of light, and other forms of radiant energy, a star radiates per unit of time. The luminosity of a star is determined by the radius and the surface temperature.
2006-11-15 03:00:08 · answer #9 · answered by StereoZ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they generate light from the nuclear fission/fusion going on inside them.
2006-11-15 02:58:17 · answer #10 · answered by cfpops 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋