Let's say there was a gigantic mirrior in space, one light year from earth, and angled directley at it! Supposing you could build a telescope cabable of focusing on this mirrior, would it be possible to view earth as it was one year in the past?
This is all hypothetical obviously, so please don't start nitpicking at little details! I just want to know! thanks!
2007-07-24 16:22:00 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It would take one year for the light to reach the mirror and one year for it to return so it would be more like looking back 2 years in the future.
2007-07-24 16:25:53 · answer #1 · answered by jesse6317 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would indeed see the Earth in the past; the one-light-year trip is two light-years round trip so you'd see Earth two years ago. Of course, if you transmitted a signal with a laser pulse it would be received two years in the future.
It's easier than that to measure weird relativistic effects. Way back in the mid-1960s physicists placed two atomic clocks, 100 feet apart vertically, and let them run for a year. The lower clock was deeper in Earth's gravity well, and ran measureably slower — exactly as predicted by Einstein.
You can also measure the speed of light in a lab, bouncing it off rotating mirrors. I have done that myself.
2007-07-24 23:35:43 · answer #2 · answered by poorcocoboiboi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Technically, the answer is: no. But, if you had asked, would it be possible to view earth as it was *two* years in the past, the answer is yes. Don't forget that light takes a round trip to get from Earth to the mirror and back.
Of course, you'll need to take into account that the light has to reflect onto it...oh wait you said not to go to the little details. nvm
2007-07-24 23:26:43 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow-- that would help make history more accurate! I'm
not sure that the mirror would not do any more than reflect
what was in front of it at the time (whether it was present, future, or past) , but what an idea for a
TV series!
(Remember a light year is a measure of distance,
not time.)
2007-07-25 00:34:00 · answer #4 · answered by V B 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it would work but not with an ordinary telescope you need to use one that sends out x-rays which take along time to travel through space and can send images of planets as they were millions of years ago. So yes it would work.
2007-07-25 06:17:29 · answer #5 · answered by Lily R 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would think so... because it would take a light-year for the reflection to get there... so i'm assuming it would show what was going on a year ago... that would be cool...
Thanks to the answers before me, yea it would be 2 years in the past cause it would take one year for the light to get there then one year for it to get back... but that is still cool! :) lol
2007-07-24 23:28:13 · answer #6 · answered by Storm G. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would see two years into the past.
If you were looking at yourself and someone cut your head off you wouldn't know it for two years,if you relied on the mirror
2007-07-25 08:05:35 · answer #7 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Remember Trelane?
Yes, but you would see 2 years in the future, getting BACK would also take a year.
Hmm, maybe we should do that, but put it 100light years away HA!
2007-07-25 09:17:00 · answer #8 · answered by Crazygirl ♥ aka GT 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes....it would be possible see earth.
2 years in the past....
2007-07-24 23:29:37 · answer #9 · answered by cosmos 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Little details? You have not given much thought to your question.
2007-07-28 18:09:15 · answer #10 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋