2007-12-20 01:38:43 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes
Just turn it towards Earth
2007-12-20 01:41:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
First, the Hubble nor any other device can see back to the beginning of time for two reasons :: 1. time began at the instant of the Big Bang but the universe was opaque for about the first 3,000 years after that; 2. we can only see the "observable" universe, as of now out to some 13.7-billion light years but there are vast regions of the universe we will never see because the expansion there is faster than light (..inflation..Hubble Constant..)
Finally, no device we have can "look" into the future because it would have to react to light or some other form of data that has not yet been generated.
2007-12-20 02:37:38 · answer #2 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a paradox of the universe that it is expanding in all directions so that no matter what way you pointed Hubble or any other measuring device it would only see into the past. It is a tough concept to grab onto, sorry.
One of the theories in physics is the redshift theory where by the recesion speed of the galaxy is measures to see how fast it is receding and so work out the distance it is from Earth.
Because all galaxies are receding then you can conclude that all non-local objects in space are receding and the further from our galaxy the faster they are receding.
Interestingly (maybe) within more local galaxies with are rotating some individual stars display a less red shift or a blue shift as they are moving towards us compared to the overall movement away of the galaxy... ho hum, too deep. Sorry. But even then the light will have taken thousands of years to reach us...
2007-12-22 08:51:01 · answer #3 · answered by jmb944 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No that is not possible.
The HST sees by the light that reaches it. When something in the future has still not occured, then how can light be emitted from it and reach the HST.
We see back in time because light travels at a finite speed and, fast as it is, it still takes time to travel vast distances. For example when we look at the sun we see the sun as it was 8 minutes ago because it's taken the light from the sun that long to reach us.
We cannot observe something that has not happened yet because the light from it has not been emitted from that object or left it yet.
2007-12-21 14:33:26 · answer #4 · answered by moin_shaikh 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Light has a finite speed.
300,000 km/s sounds fast, but in astronomical terms, it is slow (takes light over 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth).
So, whenever you see anything, you see it as it WAS when the light started off. If you look at the wall in front of you, at 3 metres (10 ft), then you see the wall as it was a "hundred-millionth" of a second ago (1/100,000,000).
No matter what you look at.
The HST is no different (except that it can see much further than our eyes simply because it can see much fainter things).
However, HST cannot see to the "beginning of time" because the universe was not transparent then. It became transparent when the overall temperature dropped to 3000 K (it is now lower than 3 K), about 400,000 years after the "beginning of time".
2007-12-20 01:50:46 · answer #5 · answered by Raymond 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. The reason we can see back in time is because light travels at a finite speed and, fast as it is, it still takes time to travel vast distances. For example when you look at the sun you are seeing it as it was 8 minutes ago. The nearest star after our own sun is approx. 4 light years away so we see it as it was four years ago. For objects that are billions of light years away we see them as they were billions of years ago because it's taken the light from them that long to reach us.
We cannot observe something that has not happened yet because the light from it has not left it yet.
2007-12-20 03:34:34 · answer #6 · answered by andy muso 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no...with our current knowledge, we cannot see things that have not happened yet.
As far as the start of the universe and the big bang have you heard about M theory, 11 dimensions and parallel universes? makes marvelous reading. The scientists say they can take physics to the other side of the big bang where there still is time! So time may not have started with the big bang.
2007-12-20 04:47:05 · answer #7 · answered by freethinker 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Astaroth - First answer was right - but did not explain.
If you look back in time 20 billion years, looking same distance to future brings you to NOW.
Point it to Earth.
2007-12-20 01:53:50 · answer #8 · answered by eastanglianuk1951 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No that's impossible. It doesn't work that way. It's a telescope not a crystal ball.
2007-12-20 23:23:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What!? Ha Ha Ha!!! Sure it does. It's also in the shape of a Delorean and makes dinosuars.
2007-12-20 01:43:30 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
how is that possible???? when you observe light, the light source has come from a point in the past because it has taken 'x' years to reach us.......it cannot observe something that hasn't happened
2007-12-20 02:06:09 · answer #11 · answered by mark_2005_london 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋