Very Powerful Telescope to see 10 light years away at high resolution....

AI Thread Summary
A hypothetical powerful telescope capable of observing 10 light years away would allow viewers to see events as they occurred a decade ago, due to the finite speed of light. Observers would witness the movement of people and cars on distant planets as they were at that time. The discussion emphasizes that this concept is not related to relativity but rather to basic principles of light propagation. While practical limitations exist, such as dust in space and the need for a significantly large aperture, these are set aside for the sake of the thought experiment. The conversation highlights the intriguing implications of observing the past through advanced astronomical technology.
RandyD123
Messages
66
Reaction score
7
Lets suppose I had a very powerful telescope and I could see 10 light years away. Would I see cars and people on that planet as they were 10 years ago? Would I actually see the people moving and the cars moving on the ground?
 
Science news on Phys.org
This isn't a relativity question. Physicists from 1700s (perhaps even earlier) would have told you yes, and yes*. This only depends on finite light speed.

*You might need to clear out dust from space and have an aperture much larger than the solar system, but whatever, that's fine for a thought experiment.

< Moderator Note -- thread is now moved from Relativity forum to General Physics >
 
Last edited:
Thread 'A quartet of epi-illumination methods'

Thread 'A quartet of epi-illumination methods'

Well, it took almost 20 years (!!!), but I finally obtained a set of epi-phase microscope objectives (Zeiss). The principles of epi-phase contrast is nearly identical to transillumination phase contrast, but the phase ring is a 1/8 wave retarder rather than a 1/4 wave retarder (because with epi-illumination, the light passes through the ring twice). This method was popular only for a very short period of time before epi-DIC (differential interference contrast) became widely available. So...
View full post »

Thread 'Energy of Electromagnetic Waves in Destructive Interference'

Hello ! As we know by definition that: "Constructive interference occurs when the phase difference between the waves is an even multiple of π (180°), whereas destructive interference occurs when the difference is an odd multiple of π." But my question is in the case of destructive interference, what happens to the energy carried by the two electromagnetic waves that annihilate, the energy carried by the electromagnetic waves also disappears, or is transformed into some other type of...
View full post »

Thread 'Effective absorption coefficient of gold nanoparticles'

I am currently undertaking a research internship where I am modelling the heating of silicon wafers with a 515 nm femtosecond laser. In order to increase the absorption of the laser into the oxide layer on top of the wafer it was suggested we use gold nanoparticles. I was tasked with modelling the optical properties of a 5nm gold nanoparticle, in particular the absorption cross section, using COMSOL Multiphysics. My model seems to be getting correct values for the absorption coefficient and...
View full post »

Similar threads

Moon Experiment: Laser Beam & Telescope for New Moon Phase
Replies
17
Views
3K
When I lit a laser ray for 10 seconds from a distant planet
Replies
7
Views
2K
B How would light work on a mirror very far away?
Replies
11
Views
1K
What is the resolution of light?
Replies
8
Views
2K
Worm Hole light years away and look at Earth through a giant telescope
Replies
29
Views
3K
Speed of Light when not in a vacuum?
Replies
5
Views
6K
B How did Earth get so far away from other galaxies?
Replies
12
Views
2K
Light Beam fired 1 AU into space
Replies
18
Views
5K
I Condenser lens retrofit for a lighting application
Replies
24
Views
2K
I Phase Contrast Telescope - Part II
Replies
25
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top