If a star exploded, would I be able to see it it?

Question

because stars are so far away, in the event of an explosion, would the image of the event take thousands of years to reach my eye, or would I be seeing it as if it were happening at that very second?????

thousands of years is being used as an example.

So if the image would take time to reach us, we may be veiwing already dead stars.

Answer 1

The nearest star (except sun) Proxima Centauri (or Alpha Centauri C) is 4.22 light-years away.

This means that if this star were to explode this instant, then the it will take 4.22 years for the light (from the explosion) to reach earth, for it to be visible to you.
Proxima Centauri is not a star to be exploding in its lifetime.

Now considering other stars which are comparitively farther will take more time for their explosion to be seen.

You may see a explosion that has taken place many years before, whose light is reaching earth now. This is highly probable.

Considering the probability of explosions occuring, the main contenders are massive stars which are called as supergiants . The explosions they undergo are known as nova or supernova depending upon the energy released.

Mankind has witnessed many such stellar phenomenon even before the advent of modern science. Big explosions are very rare.
You may be lucky to witness one in your lifetime!

Considering your additional details posted later:
Yeah you have a probablity of 99.67 % to see an explosion that has occured much much before(is already dead)!

Answer 2

Exploding stars are quite common and regularly observed by astronomers, but most are in other galaxies and you need good equipment to see them. Occasionally we are treated to a nearby supernova that can be seen with the naked eye. Some have been so bright that they could be seen in broad daylight. The supernovae that have been recorded in the last couple thousand years were hundreds to thousands of light years away. Eta Carinae is a red giant about 8000 LY away which could blow up at any time, now. (Including thousands of years from now.) It will be quite bright. What would really be cool would be a supernova within a hundred LY, but we wouldn't want one too close because they spew out lots of hot gas and charged particles and dangerous radiation. A very nearby one could have some adverse effects for us.
Whenever you see anything way out in space, you are seeing it as it was, not as it is now. Even if you look at the sun, you are seeing it as it was about 8 minutes and 20 seconds ago. Light from the moon even takes over a second to get here.

Answer 3

Because the speed of light is NOT infinite, it will take some time for an event that's happening right now with a distant star to be seen here on earth. If it's 100 light years away, it will take 100 years.
If the sun were to blow up right NOW, we wouldn't witness it for another 8 minutes.
If the nova is close enough, it may become bright enough to be seen in broad daylight. Thaty's what happenned to the nova that is now known as the Crab Nebula.
ps...correct re "dead stars"...basic rule of thumb here is the further away you can see, the further back in time you can see. We can see galaxies and quazars today that existed before the earth had even formed!

Answer 4

You would be seeing it after thousands of years (or tens, hundreds, millions etc. depending on their distance from us), but as you see it, what you see is a live scene as it happened, only delayed by the transit.

By the way, light travels at the rate of nearly 300, 000 kilometers per second and there are 60 seconds per minute,60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours to a day, 365 days to an year. So, a light year is a pretty big distance and the nearest start is a little more than 4 light years away from us.

Answer 5

You would need telescope to see an exploding or exploded star. And it would have exploded years before the image reached your eye or the eye of the telescope. In 1987, the exploding supernova star was recorded and it had exploded 18 yrs before -- it was from a near by galaxy.
It would look like it is happening as you look, but it would have happened long time back.

Answer 6

yes.. you will surely see it if you live long enough for the light from the explosion to reach us( the earth ).
Light travels at 300,000 km/sec. approx. So if a star at a distance of 300,000 km were to explode you'll see it the next second. However, there are no stars at such close distances. And even the nearest star is hundreds of light years away.

Answer 7

in case you will discover a megastar because it is, you could relatively have the potential to confirm the explosion if it became right into a supernova. A supernova is in many cases as surprising because of the fact the full galaxy which includes it - even in spite of the undeniable fact that that galaxy could incorporate 100bn stars. so as that brings up the subsequent element, that's that there are various stars you could see in the event that they exploded which you will no longer see precise now, because of the fact they are too faint. Supernovae that are close adequate to be seen with the bare eye (as antagonistic to with telescopes etc.) are uncommon, happening in elementary terms each and every couple of centuries or so. the probabilities of seeing one on your lifetime are particularly low. One candidate that's estimated to explode interior of right here few thousand years (an extremely couple of minutes in terms of stellar evolution is Betelgeuse in Orion - yet do no longer carry your breath. there is yet another classification of exploding stars referred to as novae, that are plenty milder and much less interesting, yet in addition plenty extra hassle-free. For those you could ought to comprehend your way around the sky to be conscious one. no longer so interior of reach supernovae.

Answer 8

Yes, if it were bright and close enough.

In the 11th century (or 12th) Chinese astronomers recorded a star exploding the the constellation Taurus. It was so bright, that it could be seen from the Naked in broad daylight. Its remains are now in the Crab Nebular, which is of a 8.6 magnitude.

So yes, if it is bright enough, and it the correct part of the sky, you will be able to see it

Answer 9

It depends how far the star is. You could be seeing the electromagnetic waves of the dying star. Or it could be a close star and it blast at that same moment. So overall the star may have blown up billions of years ago your just seeing the debris.

Answer 10

You would see it between four and several thousand years after it happened but if it was close enough then yes.

ATLANTIS WILL RISE AGAIN!