When you look at a star through a powerful telescope are you seeing its light moments before it reaches earth?

Answer 1

No. The telescope doesn't see further into space. It magnifies the image that reaches you. Light has to reach you before you can perceive it.

This is obviously one of those questions where someone is so sure they're right that they give everyone else a thumbs-down, believing it will make what they think true.

Answer 2

No. The light you see of a star is the light it gave off some time ago, and which has taken that time to travel from the star to your eye. How old that light is depends on how far away the star is from you.

Lets take some examples.
The nearest star to us is our own sun. It takes 8 minutes for the light to travel from the suns surface to the earth. So when you look at the sun (which you shouldnt do directly or youll permanently damage your eyes!) you are actually seeing the sun as it was 8 minutes ago. So if the sun were to suddenly go out (which it wont!), we wouldnt know until 8 minutes later, as the old light will still be coming towards us.

As you get further away, this effect increases. The next nearest stars are, say, 4 or 5 light years away. (A light year is the distance light travels in a year). So we are seeing these stars actually how they looked 4 or 5 years ago.

At the other extreme, some stars we can see through the highest-powered radio telescopes etc are estimated to be millions of light years away. So we are seeing them as they were when dinosaurs walked the earth! It is a real case of looking back in time. And logically, a few of those stars we see dont actually exist now -theyve died out- but because of the great distance, their light still shines on to us.

Makes you feel kinda small, dont it.

Answer 3

Actually you are always looking at light that's been traveling through the universe for a long time. Light like everything else has a known velocity and takes time to travel from point A to point B, any light you are seeing from a distant start is actually several years old.

As for the telescope by virtue of magnification you can actually glimpse light farther back than the light visible with the naked eye. Some of the more powerful telescope are capable of glimpsing many years into the past.

Answer 4

This is a good question as is the corner stone of special relativity.

The answer is you are seeing the object in the state it was when the light left.

When you use a telescope you are able to collect more particles of light (photons) this enables you to see object to dim for the human eye to detect but if you had an object that was visible to the naked eye you would see the same as the telescope only in not such great detail.

Answer 5

No, you see, when only see light when it strikes our retina. Telescopes don't "reach out" in any sense, they simply collect light and magnify it. They are light light funnels.

For the light to get to your eye, it still had to travel all the way to Earth.

Answer 6

You're seeing light that is really old.
This light has traveled literally trillions of miles, and that takes a long time, even if it's light.
Keep in mind, a light year is 6 trillion miles.

Answer 7

until the light reachs the earth, there is nothing to see. How old the light is depends on how far away the star is.

Answer 8

No.

You are seeing the light as it reaches Earth.
The telescope just catches more of it than
your eye normally catches and focuses it so
that it can then be delivered to your eye and
you will see more things with better detail.

Answer 9

No, you are seeing the light when it hits your eye (for all practical purposes, since it does take time for you brain to interpret the signal, but that amount of time is really insignificant).

The telescope only makes it easier to see the light.

Answer 10

Good question...but no...the light is being constantly emitted so you cant differentiate between light that way....now if you saw a Supernova...would you see it with a powerful telescope before someone saw it with the naked eye...then yes.