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Science Forum Forum Index » Astronomy & Cosmology » Question about the nature of stars

  
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Darth Lord Sidious
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:45 am    Post subject: Question about the nature of stars Reply with quote

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Since the light from a star light years away takes light years to get to us, is there a less number of actual stars then what we see in the night sky?
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Janus
Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Question about the nature of stars Reply with quote

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Darth Lord Sidious wrote:
Since the light from a star light years away takes light years to get to us, is there a less number of actual stars then what we see in the night sky?


The individual stars we see are all generally in our own part of the galaxy. Since stellar evolution is a slow process, the chances of any of them having reached the end of their lives in the time it took for the light from them to reach us is small.
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Ophiolite
Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:38 am    Post subject: Re: Question about the nature of stars Reply with quote

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Janus wrote:
The individual stars we see are all generally in our own part of the galaxy. Since stellar evolution is a slow process, the chances of any of them having reached the end of their lives in the time it took for the light from them to reach us is small.
And in the meantime other stars have been born whose light has not yet reached us.
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KALSTER
Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Quote:
Since the light from a star light years away takes light years to get to us
Just a small, but crucial correction. "Light years" always refers to a distance. So light from sources light years away take years to get here.
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