The question is a bit whacky... most of the stars are a few hundred light years away from us. That means the light emerging out from the star takes a few hundred years to reach the earth. Now this implies that the light that has touched the retina of my eyes today was actually emitted by the star a few hudreds years ago. So what could be the current status of the star. Its something like I am actually looking into the past of the star. Probably it could have died out by now? What do you guys suggest?
2007-01-19 18:57:42 · 3 answers · asked by plato's ghost 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes, you're seeing the stars as they were hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. However, stars evolve very slowly, and even the shortest lived ones may last a few million years. Stars don't just abruptly die like a pet goldfish; they take a long time going and put on quite a show in the process.
There are very few stars that astronomers think are close to dying. Eta Carinae, visible from the southern hemisphere, is 8000 light years away and is thought to be in its death throes; it may have gone supernova by now. The rest of the night sky is probably unchanged.
2007-01-19 19:51:48 · answer #1 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your correct. the star your seeing in the sky is how it appeared hundreds, thousands, millions, even billions of years ago.
2007-01-20 03:26:52 · answer #2 · answered by llloki00001 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
looking at the stars truly is like looking at the past, the stars you see may be long dead.
2007-01-20 03:07:37 · answer #3 · answered by zorro1701e 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋