When We Look at the Stars...

[Silver]

I've always loved the night sky (like, who doesn't, heh) and last night, when I went out for a walk and was sitting on a low block wall, enjoying the crescent moon and the stars - after a long spell where the stars were obscured by thin clouds, I wondered for the first time ever (which kinda surprised me): Are the stars we see within our own Milky Way or out farther or both?

It's probably an elementary question for most, but that question just popped into my head last night!

There is a puzzle to the night sky which no scientist has yet to solve, that is, if there are a million billion trillion stars in our universe why then is the night sky black - shouldn't all that astronomical starlight light up the sky like the daylight ?

It made me wonder that the speed of light is then the speed of all material particles in the universe. Even we humans and the planet Earth are accelerating through space at the speed of light. The only thing left that can travel faster than the speed of light is the darkness.

My idea is that a star is somewhat similar to a dandelion. Insofar that the light shines to a distance proportional to it's mass and energy, then stops. If you were to imagine a ball of needles where the beams of light attenuate to a fine fixed point in outer space. And only by which, the darkness, overtakes the beams and in so doing terminates their energy.

I'm sure one day someone very bright will come along who can explain this theory better than I.

t.

[Silver]

Wow, thistle, that was a very thoughtful & deep response!

I enjoyed it a lot.

[Astro]

Most of the stars are from the Milky Way, I'm not sure if stars exist between galaxies but from what I understand what you see when you look up is probably going to be either a star (from the Milky Way) or another galaxy entirely.

we can see supernovas outside of our galaxy.

[Astro]

It seems that Andromeda is the only galaxy visible with the naked eye, and even then it's just a smudge, but It might be worth trying to find it if you have binoculars.

And something else I've just learned, Andromeda is orbited by 14 dwarf galaxies. Some of which can also be seen with binoculars as well.

[Silver]

Yes, Astro -- I was thinking in terms of with the naked eye alone.

What frustrates me all these years is that I only recognize the easiest constellations like the Big & Little Dippers, and that's pretty much it.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by thistle

There is a puzzle to the night sky which no scientist has yet to solve, that is, if there are a million billion trillion stars in our universe why then is the night sky black - shouldn't all that astronomical starlight light up the sky like the daylight ?

It only lights up the stuff it shines on, i.e. reflects off into our eyes, so if nothing's there it doesn't 'light up'... no one sees light. They only see the emission and the reflection... nothing in between.

It made me wonder that the speed of light is then the speed of all material particles in the universe.

Even we humans and the planet Earth are accelerating through space at the speed of light. The only thing left that can travel faster than the speed of light is the darkness.

My idea is that a star is somewhat similar to a dandelion. Insofar that the light shines to a distance proportional to it's mass and energy, then stops. If you were to imagine a ball of needles where the beams of light attenuate to a fine fixed point in outer space. And only by which, the darkness, overtakes the beams and in so doing terminates their energy.

I'm sure one day someone very bright will come along who can explain this theory better than I.

t.[/quote]

Originally Posted by Gem

It only lights up the stuff it shines on, i.e. reflects off into our eyes, so if nothing's there it doesn't 'light up'... no one sees light. They only see the emission and the reflection... nothing in between.

I was just waiting to see how long it would take to blow that one out of the water.

Although sometimes I do wonder that every answer to ever question concerning the unseen universe can (and perhaps will be) found down here on Earth within all the various aspects of nature, like plants and the animals and so on.
But yeah, maybe I was stretching it a bit comparing a dandelion to a star.
A bit like saying Isaac Newton could never have discovered the gravity thingimmy-jig without an apple falling from a tree

t.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by thistle

I was just waiting to see how long it would take to blow that one out of the water.

Although sometimes I do wonder that every answer to ever question concerning the unseen universe can (and perhaps will be) found down here on Earth within all the various aspects of nature, like plants and the animals and so on.
But yeah, maybe I was stretching it a bit comparing a dandelion to a star.
A bit like saying Isaac Newton could never have discovered the gravity thingimmy-jig without an apple falling from a tree

t.

Mighty strange stuff, that gravity. Teehee.