I'm wondering why is a discussion about light so important to astronomy?

Answer 1

Probably because light (in various forms) is the tool used to probe the universe. (Almost) all the information we get from the universe comes in the form of electromagnetic radiation (a.k.a. light or photons): visible, infra red, radio, ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma...

Historically visible light was the first carrier of information for astronomers (especially before the telescope) and it is still the most used medium to study the universe.

An understanding of light (its properties, the way things interfere with it, the way it interferes with things) tells us not only about the object that sent it, but also about objects in between (e.g., interstellar matter).

Answer 2

a million) nicely, of direction it bugs the hell out of deep sky astronomers, yet then, we are purely slightly interior the minority. i will not be able to make certain communities getting inspired because of the fact we gained't see extra advantageous than 50 stars interior the sky or the crab nebula in our telescopes from now on. yet human beings do get inspired approximately another issues, like power conservation. i'm going to wager some might propose getting a number of those companies to coach off their lights furniture at evening and stop putting such an pointless call for on electrical energy. we've additionally been informed that some birds' migratory types have been disrupted by utilising this. 2)trouble-free: Remington .30-06 w/ Bushnell 6-24x40 scope. 3) The sky has deteriorated a lot only interior of my lifetime. I stay 20 miles from the city I grew up in and the sky here appears like it did interior the city while i replaced right into a new child. I went out camping out, far removed from city lights furniture some weeks in the past and that i could not have faith how great the celebs looked. I had forgotten how eye-catching the sky could desire to be. unhappy. (i bypass back next week.) Brant

Answer 3

Can you see? Do you understand the importance of seeing? Had it occurred to you that astronomers see celestial objects by looking at them?

Do you understand that light is essential for sight? Is there a connection?

Answer 4

Fair enough Raymond, but I have always wandered. What if our math is wrong? What if light doesn't turn out to be that constant as it approach infinity? What kind of error factor will that produce in the way we interpret the universe?