In Other Words: If you turn around after 20 years (travelling at 2 x the speed of light) and look back at the earth from wherever you are in space, would you see yourself take off from earth?
2007-05-13 03:40:10 · 19 answers · asked by Gerlof 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Ok, you got me. Not 10 years but 40. Thanks. But would you (being in one place at one particular moment) see YOURSELF in a another place and moment?
2007-05-13 04:06:02 · update #1
You can't travel at twice the speed of light by any means known within conventional physics. And if you traveled for twenty years at such a speed, you'd be forty light years from Earth, not ten. But if you did somehow end up forty light years from Earth, you would indeed see Earth as it appeared forty years ago. However, it wouldn't be possible for you to get to such a point in less than forty years yourself. The earliest thing you could see on Earth, then, would actually be the moment after you took off, and that requires that you traveled at the speed of light, which is also impossible for anything other than a photon. If you traveled instead at a significant fraction of the speed of light, spending perhaps 80 years to get 40 light years from Earth, you'd see events that happened 40 years before the time when you make the observations, but after you left Earth.
2007-05-13 03:43:12 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Not possible yet!
(also if you travelled at twice the speed of light for 20 years, surely you took off 2o years ago not 10? This bit seems to be confusing a few other people who answered!)
But if you travelled for 20 years at twice the speed of light you'd be 40 light years way a from earth. So that would then give you 20years to set up your telescope so you could see yourself take off.
Good question!
Reminds me of this one -
If travelling at the speed of light in a spaceship, what would happen when you turned your headlamps on?
:)
2007-05-13 03:59:53 · answer #2 · answered by The Book Garden 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ignoring the impossible physics: Yes. But you would have to sit and wait 20 years to see it. You are 40 light years away, and the light from the image of your take-off has only travelled 20 light years in that time.
And you'd need a very good telescope ;-)
2007-05-13 03:59:59 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You would be outside the earth's event horizon and could not possibly get any information from it. I know it's technically impossible to move at or above the speed of light, but if two objects moved away from each other, both travelling at above half the speed of light, the combined relative speed would exceed the speed of light and therefore no light (or other information) could pass from one to the other.
2007-05-15 04:49:08 · answer #4 · answered by andy muso 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The technology to build the telescope to see yourself 20 light years away would rival the technology to travel twice the speed of light. Travel at that speed - impossible, build the telescope, very close to impossible.
2007-05-13 08:55:23 · answer #5 · answered by John B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. So don't bother trying it.
But, if it WERE possible - if you stopped after 20 years you would see nothing - it would take another 10 years before you saw yourself take off.
2007-05-13 03:43:43 · answer #6 · answered by Tufty Porcupine 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. If you go faster than the speed of light, it will take you back in time. In other words, if you leave earth going faster than the speed of light, you will see the dinosaurs (apparently). Just remember this: Slower than speed of light-Forward in time, Going at speed of light-Time stops, Going faster than speed of light-backwards in time. But anyways, there are so many flaws in these physics. It is impossible.
First of all, to go the speed of light, you would have to have the mass of one atom or so. Second, To go faster than the speed of light, you would have to have reverse or negative mass. And third, To go forward into time at the speed of light like 100 years or so within a few seconds, you would have to be going -300,000 km/s. Which is impossible. You can't go slower than 0 km/s.
2007-05-13 04:01:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, if you could do that, you will see the past events and that includes your take off. In effect, you will be travelling into past and also into the future with respect to some other planets and star systems, since you will be seeing things which we earthbound creatures cannot see for some more years.
Bon Voyage!
2007-05-13 03:48:44 · answer #8 · answered by Swamy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fascinating question - and fascinating answers.
But at the end of the day, no matter how fast you travel, you are using up time - however you measure it.
So the short answer is - No.
Nice thought though. I forgot to take photo's 20 years ago.
2007-05-13 03:52:05 · answer #9 · answered by Bunts 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2017-01-09 18:35:30 · answer #10 · answered by brintley 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋