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Originally posted by Parksie
Stars are massive. To block light from a star, space debris would have to be like the same size as the sun.
Originally posted by inverslyproportional
reply to post by AllIsOne
Op there are many stars we can't see,, because they are blocked by gases and dust etc.
Just like we can see a distant light on earth, with anatmosphere that is also full of moving objects, birds planes, dust, debris, people cars and airplanes. The amount of empty space vs the space taken up by the small objects inbetween, is very huge. Chances are, the light won't encounter anything at all.
So as you experience in everyday life light travelling from a distant light source, it should be easy to parse out the rest.
Originally posted by Im a Marty
I think I read that the stars light is amplified by the atmosphere, When in space - or on the moon, you cannot see the stars that we see here.
Also - those stars are long gone!
Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
Hey, I'd never thought about it...but you're absolutely right. That's an unimaginable distance to us in thinking about it or even considering how much is floating between here and there. This is what is in close, for that matter.
I've wondered for awhile now if someday we're going to find out that looking out from Earth will end up being like a side view mirror in a car. "Objects may be closer than they appear". That would be both exciting and real sobering, wouldn't it?
Originally posted by AllIsOne
I.e. Hipparcos 5926 in Cassiopeia is 16,308 light-years away. One light year is 9.4607 × 10*12 km. How come we can see that star without any major flickering? Seeing a star means that the light traveled an almost unimaginable distance without being absorbed, or blocked along the way. I feel the photons should have hit something along the way, i.e. planets, gasses, suns, space debris, etc.. The universe is full of moving objects. Yet, we see that star continuously shinning at night?
planets, gasses, suns, space debris, etc
Originally posted by Im a Marty
I think I read that the stars light is amplified by the atmosphere, When in space - or on the moon, you cannot see the stars that we see here.
Also - those stars are long gone!
Originally posted by AllIsOne
I.e. Hipparcos 5926 in Cassiopeia is 16,308 light-years away. One light year is 9.4607 × 10*12 km. How come we can see that star without any major flickering? Seeing a star means that the light traveled an almost unimaginable distance without being absorbed, or blocked along the way. I feel the photons should have hit something along the way, i.e. planets, gasses, suns, space debris, etc.. The universe is full of moving objects. Yet, we see that star continuously shinning at night?
Originally posted by inverslyproportional
Originally posted by Im a Marty
I think I read that the stars light is amplified by the atmosphere, When in space - or on the moon, you cannot see the stars that we see here.
Also - those stars are long gone!
No, earths thick atmosphere causes less stars to be visible, and clear. This is why they put observatories on top of mountains, and hubble gets better and clearer pictures than earth based telescopes many times its size.
The light travels quite clearly in space as their is little in its way to diffuse it or block, earths atmosphere is very dense, and absorbs and reflects a lot, making hazy what it does not.
Originally posted by AllIsOne
I.e. Hipparcos 5926 in Cassiopeia is 16,308 light-years away. One light year is 9.4607 × 10*12 km. How come we can see that star without any major flickering? Seeing a star means that the light traveled an almost unimaginable distance without being absorbed, or blocked along the way. I feel the photons should have hit something along the way, i.e. planets, gasses, suns, space debris, etc.. The universe is full of moving objects. Yet, we see that star continuously shinning at night?