Jeff DuBay
8 Minutes and 20 Seconds
Photons emitted from the surface of the Sun (sunlight) take an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel to the Earth. So, when you look at the Sun, you're actually viewing about 8 minutes in the past.
Why did I say "an average of"? Obviously, the speed of light doesn't change. However, the Earth's distance to the Sun does change, due to its elliptical orbit.
By comparison, other stars in the night sky are so far away from us, light takes much, much longer to reach us. From the closest stars, light takes a few years to get to Earth. From the farthest stars, light has taken literally billions of years to reach us.
So when you view these stars, you are actually viewing the distant, distant past. For instance, the light that you're seeing may have left that star while dinosaurs walked the Earth.
If you took the time to read this, I appreciate it. Hopefully, you found it interesting. I personally think the notion of viewing the distant past in the night sky is fascinating.
By the way, I took this photo of the sunset at a local park. I was able to capture the distant treetops over a large pond.
8 Minutes and 20 Seconds
Photons emitted from the surface of the Sun (sunlight) take an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel to the Earth. So, when you look at the Sun, you're actually viewing about 8 minutes in the past.
Why did I say "an average of"? Obviously, the speed of light doesn't change. However, the Earth's distance to the Sun does change, due to its elliptical orbit.
By comparison, other stars in the night sky are so far away from us, light takes much, much longer to reach us. From the closest stars, light takes a few years to get to Earth. From the farthest stars, light has taken literally billions of years to reach us.
So when you view these stars, you are actually viewing the distant, distant past. For instance, the light that you're seeing may have left that star while dinosaurs walked the Earth.
If you took the time to read this, I appreciate it. Hopefully, you found it interesting. I personally think the notion of viewing the distant past in the night sky is fascinating.
By the way, I took this photo of the sunset at a local park. I was able to capture the distant treetops over a large pond.