The light that we see from Canopus today actually left the star over 310 years ago. Canopus is located approximately 310 light-years away from Earth, so the light we see now started its journey towards us over three centuries ago.
The vast distances involved means that the light we see left those galaxies a long time ago.
No. We are seeing as it was. The light we are seeing now was first emitted some time ago. We see the other planets in our solar system as they were a few minutes to a few hours ago. We see stars as they were a few years to a few centuries ago. We see other galaxies as they were millions to billions of years ago.
When people look up at the stars and say that they are seeing them as they were millions of years ago, they are referring to the phenomenon of light taking time to travel vast distances. Since stars are located far away in space, the light we see from them today actually originated millions of years ago. This concept allows us to glimpse into the past and witness how these stars appeared millions of years ago.
they tell us what it was like years ago in a certain spot
If you mean the light we see NOW, it left the star about 4.4 years ago, since that is the distance of the star, expressed in light-years.
The light that we see from Canopus today actually left the star over 310 years ago. Canopus is located approximately 310 light-years away from Earth, so the light we see now started its journey towards us over three centuries ago.
as they were, the time it took the light to travel from them to us determines how long ago we are viewing, even the light from our sun is 8 minutes old if I remember right.
If your oil light's on, you should have added oil a long time ago. Check your oil and see if it even registers on the dipstick.
Long As I Can See the Light was created in 1970.
The vast distances involved means that the light we see left those galaxies a long time ago.
The vast distances involved means that the light we see left those galaxies a long time ago.
Goldfish do not need their tank light on for more than 6 hours. Unless you have a lot of live plants in your tank, leaving the light on for a long time will result in an increase in algae in your tank. If you begin to see an algae bloom, then you're best to leave the light off for several days.
No, the light from the moon takes time to reach us, so we see it as it was about 1.3 seconds ago. The moon is not a time machine that allows us to see the past.
100 years ago
Different, but you didnt say how long ago and that's relative. For some of the earliest-see below.
Light takes time to travel, so light reaching us from a million light years away has taken that long to travel to us. We see what it looked like when the light left.