that if the moon could see people on earth, it would see 4 YEARS AGO because that's how long it takes for light to travel to earth?
2006-12-19 11:40:27 · 17 answers · asked by Missy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
no - i think you may have gotten confused because the nearest star to our sun is about 4 light years away - (which yes then the image we see is 4 years old)
In comparision, the light from our sun gets to us within minutes - even faster between the earth and it's moon (seconds!)
The best reality check is that radio communication such as when astronauts landed on the moon was more or less instant- and radio frequency waves travel at light speed.
2006-12-19 11:48:18 · answer #1 · answered by Kshaw5 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No, I think you're confusing the moon with the closest star to our own sun. The nearest star to us, Proxima Centauri, is 4 light years away, so if you were orbiting that sun and watching the earth, the view you would see is of the earth as it was 4 years ago. You might want to buy a big telescope!
The moon is approximately 250,000 miles from the earth and the speed of light is about 186,000 miles a second, so it takes a little over 1 second for light to reach the earth from the moon.
Hope this helps
2006-12-19 11:59:41 · answer #2 · answered by Melok 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Not nearly. If that were true it would mean that the moon was 4 light years away!!! And that would also mean that we would never be able to send people to the moon, when we have done so in the past. The moon is only 250,000 miles away, and it takes light only about 2 seconds to get there.
2006-12-19 12:35:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, it only takes a second and a quarter for light to get from the Moon to the Earth.
As everybody knows, or should know, the Moon is about 240,000 miles away and light travels 186,000 miles per second. Divide 240,000 by 186,000 to get the travel time for light from the Moon to Earth.
2006-12-19 13:39:26 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. It does not take light four years to reach Earth from the Moon.
It only takes light eight minutes to reach Earth from the Sun and the Sun is a heck of lot farther away.
2006-12-19 11:57:10 · answer #5 · answered by tychobrahe 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Um no, the Moon is 2.5 light seconds away, so it only takes a few seconds for light to go from there to here.
Now Alpha Proxima IS 4.25 Lightyears away and THAT would be like looking back in time. But not the Moon.
2006-12-19 12:43:38 · answer #6 · answered by mytraver 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i'm gonna post on what i imagine i'd be like in a courting, not from what i have actual experienced. In a courting, do you experience that no count number what occurs in case your moon/emotional desires are not met it received't suceed? In some procedures definite i imagine that is authentic. I have a Virgo moon and really we are there to serve. If I met a guy that did not make me experience necessary or that i ought to help him change into more beneficial indirectly i imagine i'd kinda retreat into myself extra or pull faraway from him altogether. what's you moon signal? Virgo :P what are some desires out of your moon? Order, convenience, perfection, someone to choose the Virgo moon man or woman's amenities/information.
2016-11-30 23:40:54 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. It takes a bit more than four years for light to reach us from the star Proxima Centauri, but only a few seconds to reach us from the moon.
2006-12-19 14:08:21 · answer #8 · answered by Dave_Stark 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Light travels 186,000 miles per second. The moon is only 320,000 miles away. 2 seconds, tops, at the speed of light and that is what you would see.
2006-12-19 11:45:12 · answer #9 · answered by Gordon K 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, that's not true. It's not even four seconds - probably not even one. It's 8 minutes from the sun to the earth.
2006-12-19 11:44:32 · answer #10 · answered by eri 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋