What Would We See When Traveling to a Star at Light Speed?

In summary, going to a star that is 10 light years away and looking with a telescope would show you the star as it looked 10 years ago because the time it takes for the light to reach us is 10 years, but if you were to travel to the star at or above the speed of light, you would see the star as it looked 10 years ago only if you were there for only 1.4 years. However, if you were to travel to the star at .99c, the trip would only take you about 1.4 years and you would see the star as it looked 10 years ago only if you were there for about 11.4 years.
  • #1
NoamRiahi
4
0
if we look on a star that it something like 10 light years from us with a telescope we see the star like he look before 10 years because the time the light take to come to us, so my question is what happen if we go to this star in the light speed or more, we will see all the 10 years in high speed?
For example a star who creat before 10 years, we will see all the 10 year in fast speed?
im new in the physics area and i have many theoric question like that
and sorry for my english, this not my major lang ☺
 
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  • #2
Since it is impossible to travel at or above the speed of light, let's rephrase your question to use "just under the speed of light". Since it takes light 10 years to get here, then looked at classically it would then take you 10+ years to get to the distant star and during that time it would of course age another 10 years. SO ... you would see 20 years of aging in your 10 years of travel.

BUT ... that fails to take into account relativistic effects. If you were able to magically travel at .99c (and at the current level of our technology that would be magic indeed), the trip would actually only take you about 1.4 years. So you would see about 11.4 years of aging in 1.4 years and yes, that is a "fast-forward" on how the aging of the star would look to you.
 
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  • #3
Nice, of course i know its inpossible, but i only went to know if my brain understand it
thank you for your help
 
  • #5
Bandersnatch said:
Check out this game from MIT:
http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/
It illustrates the effects of moving close to the speed of light.
wow the video look good, but unlucky the 2 link doesn't work,this start to download by in the end this stop
 
  • #6
NoamRiahi said:
wow the video look good, but unlucky the 2 link doesn't work,this start to download by in the end this stop
Works for me. Might be an issue with your internet connection.
Here, I've re-uploaded it to a different address(the windows 2012 version):
http://www.filedropper.com/aslowerspeedoflight
If it doesn't work either, try again later.
 
  • #7
Bandersnatch said:
Works for me. Might be an issue with your internet connection.
Here, I've re-uploaded it to a different address(the windows 2012 version):
http://www.filedropper.com/aslowerspeedoflight
If it doesn't work either, try again later.
i try with my pc and its work, thanks man its really nice
 

FAQ: What Would We See When Traveling to a Star at Light Speed?

1. What is the speed of light?

The speed of light, denoted by the symbol c, is a fundamental constant in physics that represents the speed at which light travels in a vacuum. Its exact value is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.

2. How was the speed of light first measured?

The first successful measurement of the speed of light was conducted by Danish astronomer Ole Rømer in the late 17th century. He observed the variations in the apparent position of Jupiter's moon, Io, as it orbited the planet. This allowed him to calculate the time it took for light to travel from Jupiter to Earth, which he estimated to be about 220,000 kilometers per second.

3. Is the speed of light constant?

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, the speed of light is constant and is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion. This means that no matter how fast an observer is moving, they will always measure the speed of light to be approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.

4. Can anything travel faster than the speed of light?

Based on our current understanding of physics, it is impossible for anything to travel faster than the speed of light. As an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases and its length contracts, making it more and more difficult to accelerate. This phenomenon is known as time dilation and prevents anything from reaching the speed of light.

5. Why is the speed of light important in physics?

The speed of light is important in physics because it is the maximum speed at which energy and information can travel in the universe. It plays a crucial role in many theories and equations, such as Einstein's theory of relativity and the famous equation E=mc^2, which relates energy to mass and the speed of light. Additionally, the speed of light is used as a unit of measurement in many scientific calculations and experiments.

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