Could we "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth and see dinosaurs?

In summary, the conversation revolves around the possibility of traveling faster than light and using advanced optics to see objects in distant galaxies, specifically the Earth and dinosaurs from 68 million years ago. The experts in the conversation explain that this is not possible due to the limitations of physics and technology. It is suggested that the person asking the questions focus on studying actual physics rather than impossible scenarios. Additionally, it is stated that even with the most advanced technology, it would not be possible to take a picture of an animal on a nearby planet in our own galaxy.
  • #1
smsaks2000
3
0
My first question on your forum. I just found you last week and have spent a whole lot of time reading.

My question: Not actually a question, but a supposition seeking confirmation.

Were it possible to travel faster than light, could we "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth and see dinosaurs? So, for instance, the Tyrannosuarus Rex was in existence during the Cretaceous period 66-68 million years ago. With FTL, could we travel some 68-million light years away, turn around to face Earth and watch a T-Rex chow down?

All the more reason to work on FTL. :)

Thanks,

Steve
 
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  • #2
Hi and welcome to PF!
smsaks2000 said:
With FTL, could we travel some 68-million light years away, turn around to face Earth and watch a T-Rex chow down?
Following your logic you'd have to be 68 million light years away INSTANTLY to see what happened here 68 million years ago. If the universe allowed mass to travel faster than c (which it appears it does not) you would have to go 2c for 68 million years (ignoring expansion and time dilation) and maybe you could see Earth dim the Sun if it passes our line of sight, and perhaps make out some contents of the atmosphere from spectral analysis, but certainly we could not see any details of the planet.
 
  • #3
Well...that kinda sucks. :)

Thanks for the reply...and for crushing my dreams.

Yes, it would have to instantaneously travel ~68 million light years. I'll go one step further...assuming we have advanced enough technologically and scientifically to travel some 68 millions light years in an instant, I'd guess we would have advanced our optics enough in that time to be able to see objects 68 million light years away more clearly than you describe in your response.

Steve
 
  • #4
Optics improvement "more clearly than you describe ... ", even if representing an unlikely couple of orders of magnitude in improvement, would STILL not be good enough for your purposes.

@smsaks2000, your original question amounts to "if the laws of physics didn't apply, what would the laws of physics have to say about <insert nonsense of your choice>". You would likely find it more interesting, and certainly more productive, to study some actual physics rather than worry about impossible scenarios. I'm not trying to "crush your dreams", but you should check the forum rules on personal speculation.
 
  • #5
68 million light years is pretty far away and the questions are unreasonable enough that I'm going to ignore them and ask and answer my own question:

Could we take a picture of an animal on another planet nearby in our galaxy? With any level of technology?

No. There are ways of getting around resolution limits, but there is no reasonable way to get around exposure limits. Even as close as a few light years away, even a truly enormous telescope (like, a solid mirror the size of earth) would probably need days of exposure to capture enough light to see fine details. So even if it had the needed resolution, it wouldn't catch a moving animal. Early photographs here had the same problem.

(I might be able to put some numbers to that later...)
 

1. How would we be able to "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth?

In order to "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth, we would need to use powerful telescopes that are able to detect light that has traveled very long distances. These telescopes would need to have high resolution and sensitivity to be able to capture the faint light from the past.

2. Is it possible to see dinosaurs through this light?

While it is theoretically possible to see dinosaurs through the light from prehistoric Earth, it is highly unlikely. Dinosaurs lived on Earth around 66 million years ago, and the light from that time period would have dissipated or been absorbed by other objects in space. Additionally, the resolution and sensitivity of our current telescopes may not be enough to capture such distant and faint images.

3. How far back in time would we be able to see through this light?

The farthest back in time that we could potentially see through this light would be around 13.8 billion years, which is the estimated age of the universe. However, the farther back in time we look, the more difficult it becomes to distinguish specific objects or events.

4. Are there any other factors that could affect our ability to "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth?

Yes, there are several factors that could affect our ability to "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth. These include the distance of the light source from Earth, the type of light being emitted, and atmospheric conditions on Earth that could distort the light. Additionally, the movement and expansion of the universe could also impact our ability to capture and interpret this light.

5. What other information could we potentially gather from this light?

If we were able to successfully "catch" the light from prehistoric Earth, we could potentially gather information about the environment and atmosphere of that time period, as well as the movements and behaviors of dinosaurs. We could also gain insights into the evolution and history of our planet and universe.

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