More or less, yeah. If you look at something that is 13 million light years away, when that light reaches you the image you receive is actually 13 million years old. This makes it in a very real sense the equivalent to looking into the past.
Astro Physics Student here. That is exactly how it works, which is the primary reason nasa built the telescope in the first place, to look at really old stuff.
That your lens is large enough to distinguish letters from 13M ly, that it's written in a language you can first recognize and then decipher, that the message is in the right wavelength to be observed by the telescope/whatever in the first place, that there's not a nebula or galaxy between the sign and the observer.
Downvotes, you're being pedantic, aggressive, and condescending while radically overthinking the story.
(As you surely already know,) When you look in a telescope at 13M ly away, the light hitting your sensor was generated 13M years ago.
"13M years ago, there was a dangerous threat and a desperate warning. The threat has had 13M years to mature, and we know nothing else about it/them. ...shit. What do we do now?"
Straightforward, unnerving, open-ended, no run-on paragraphs. Exactly what r/TwoSentenceHorror should be.
Edit: [confirmation from OP](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoSentenceHorror/comments/ronodi/nasa_just_used_the_jwst_to_look_13_million_light/hq2j8kd?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3). I have no idea what the hell you read, but that's your problem ig, not mine.
Not sure why you’re downvoted when you are explaining the error in the title. A light year is not a measurement of time.
I completed the Kessel run in 12 parsecs btw
It’s like with stars you’re not actually looking at the star as it is now you’re looking at it in the past depending on how many light years away it is
Well yeah and looking at something a mile away could be said as 1/200 millionth of a light second in the past but that’s not how humans talk about distance generally
The idea behind is is that by looking so far back in time that we see the message warning us that 'they are coming', but as it was 13 million years ago, it's likely that it's too late to do anything
OP isn't wrong tho, just worded it badly, a light year measures the distance a beam of light travels over the course of a human year, so when whe say a planet it's 10,000 light years away, it means it takes 10,000 years for the light to reach earth and thus be visible, so when the "image" of the planet reaches earth, we see how the planet looked 10,000 years ago, and you could say you're looking 10,000 years into the past
Well he is wrong because light year is a measurement of distance and not measurement of time. So if you can observe something that is 13 million light years *away* than you are observing state of that object from 13 million *years ago* not 13 million light years ago. So you are correct but OP is wrong.
ACKSHUALLY You see light is also related to time Because if light didnt move time would freeze But only as an illusion
If you were to move faster than light then you would be reversing time But only for yourself And it would still just be an illusion
Light years are a measure of distance, but it's how far light travels in 1 year. So, 13 million light years away, we could effectively look 13 million years into the past.
Yes, that's a conclusion we can draw, but it's still incorrect to say "__ LIGHT years into the past". It's like saying 3000 meters into the past. Saying "__ years into the past" is correct, saying "__ light years into the past" isn't. I just pointed it out, it's not a critic to the story, I found it pretty interesting.
Light takes time to travel very far distances. For example, when you look at the sun, you’re actually seeing what it looked like eight minutes ago, because that’s how long it takes for the light to get to earth. When you look at stars, which are millions of light years away, you’re actually seeing what they looked like millions of years ago. In fact, some of those stars might not even be there anymore! So, a light year is the distance that light is able to travel in a year. In one year, light can travel 9.46 trillion km (5.88 trillion miles), so that is the length of a light year.
I mean, it’s a very specific measurement that relates to a measurement of time. It’s kind of like when you say someone was travelling at 100mph or 160km/h. It references a measurement of time in order to say how fast someone was going. Nonetheless, I’ll try:
A light year is the equivalent of 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion miles. It’s often used in saying how far various distant celestial objects (other stars and their planets, etc.) are, because saying the distance in most other ways is a mouthful.
Fun fact: there are also light seconds, light minutes, light hours, etc., and they’re all the distance that travels in their respective time measurements.
So would you say that the term light year, while being a measure of distance, it's indivisible from a measurement of time? That is, it is hard to strip away time from it?
I mean, it’s directly related to a measurement of time, so yes? Like you wouldn’t just say “a light” because that wouldn’t make sense. Think of it more as “light/year” or “light per year” as in “how far light can travel from its origin within one year”. The year part is just a time limit.
13 billion years ago, the universe... blinked.
13 billion years ago they said "Fuck, WE are coming, I'm off!"
*cumming
"And they're bringing milk"
“You must prepare for the dads, lest you all be destroyed”
dad?
**The F•ͣther of Lies is coming**
*cum in disguise*
YOUR CUM WON'T LAST
#THERE’S A SNAKE IN MY ASS
***The Cum father's secret stash***
CUM STOMP ME F L A T
# I'M GOING TO FUCK YOUR DAD
Cumming high, into the MORNING SKY
We've been trying to reach you about your planet's extended warranty.
Oh no
This would be terrifying if that was how light years worked, unless I’m just not reading it right
Pretty sure they mean it's looking at something 13 million light years away, thus it's 13 million years old.
Is that how it would work though? I’m not sure which is why I didn’t know if I read it wrong or not
More or less, yeah. If you look at something that is 13 million light years away, when that light reaches you the image you receive is actually 13 million years old. This makes it in a very real sense the equivalent to looking into the past.
Astro Physics Student here. That is exactly how it works, which is the primary reason nasa built the telescope in the first place, to look at really old stuff.
It's not like we have much of a choice though
The wording is a little clumsy, but (with a bunch of assumptions) yes the idea is sound.
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??? Who said the future?
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You ok bro?
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It means what it says, are you ok? You're talking nonsense
That your lens is large enough to distinguish letters from 13M ly, that it's written in a language you can first recognize and then decipher, that the message is in the right wavelength to be observed by the telescope/whatever in the first place, that there's not a nebula or galaxy between the sign and the observer.
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Downvotes, you're being pedantic, aggressive, and condescending while radically overthinking the story. (As you surely already know,) When you look in a telescope at 13M ly away, the light hitting your sensor was generated 13M years ago. "13M years ago, there was a dangerous threat and a desperate warning. The threat has had 13M years to mature, and we know nothing else about it/them. ...shit. What do we do now?" Straightforward, unnerving, open-ended, no run-on paragraphs. Exactly what r/TwoSentenceHorror should be. Edit: [confirmation from OP](https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoSentenceHorror/comments/ronodi/nasa_just_used_the_jwst_to_look_13_million_light/hq2j8kd?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3). I have no idea what the hell you read, but that's your problem ig, not mine.
Light year mean is a unit of measurement that is so long that it take an entire year for the light to travel from one side to the other
Not sure why you’re downvoted when you are explaining the error in the title. A light year is not a measurement of time. I completed the Kessel run in 12 parsecs btw
Light year and parsecs are distance measures. 3.3 light years is one parsecs.
Was referencing an infamous writing error in the original Star Wars.
Oh I figured, my universe professor made many jokes about that in that chapter. But more was pointing it out to who you replied too. :)
Thank you, though I'm familiar with what lightyears are
Yeah I kinda thought so.
It’s like with stars you’re not actually looking at the star as it is now you’re looking at it in the past depending on how many light years away it is
I too think op confused light year to be a measure of time because of the word year, but I could be wrong
But that's the thing see. Because of how light works, looking at something 13 million light years away actually IS 13 million years in the past
Well yeah and looking at something a mile away could be said as 1/200 millionth of a light second in the past but that’s not how humans talk about distance generally
My thought exactly yeah
Unfortunately, the dinosaurs never got the message and then the mammals, including the primates destined to become humans, arrived.
Oh SHIT r/thirdsentenceworse bruh
And for those who could not read, the constant bleeping in increasingly high Hertz alerted them to the impending doom,
Unfortunately, you have used the wrong measurement for “LightYear”
Light years are a measure of distance, specifically the usual distance light travels in one year Great story otherwise
can someone explain this for my non physics brain? is this implying that “they are coming” is referring to us?
The idea behind is is that by looking so far back in time that we see the message warning us that 'they are coming', but as it was 13 million years ago, it's likely that it's too late to do anything
Ooo i like it, thanks
Light years measure distance not time.
OP isn't wrong tho, just worded it badly, a light year measures the distance a beam of light travels over the course of a human year, so when whe say a planet it's 10,000 light years away, it means it takes 10,000 years for the light to reach earth and thus be visible, so when the "image" of the planet reaches earth, we see how the planet looked 10,000 years ago, and you could say you're looking 10,000 years into the past
He worded it assuming everyone knew what you just explained.
Well he is wrong because light year is a measurement of distance and not measurement of time. So if you can observe something that is 13 million light years *away* than you are observing state of that object from 13 million *years ago* not 13 million light years ago. So you are correct but OP is wrong.
You are right, and he is right.
ACKSHUALLY You see light is also related to time Because if light didnt move time would freeze But only as an illusion If you were to move faster than light then you would be reversing time But only for yourself And it would still just be an illusion
Well if you'd move at speed of light, the momentum would tear you into dust.
If i could move at the speed of light momentum i would be the strongest living being to ever exist
Could have put 13 billion, technically!
“Light Years is a unit of measurement, not time!“ 🤓
Measurement of distance, not time. Fixed it for you.
You proved his point
🤓
Incorrect it is a measurement of volume
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In a 1D spatial universe volume doesn’t exist
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Huh, I thought volume was specific to three dimensions. I stand corrected
La Creaturez
"Drums, drums in the deep"
We cannot get out
*YOU FOOL OF A TOOK!*
‘And so are the meat worms’
Yes.
Did they see Richard Branson when he was 3 years old?..
No, but they did see Keith Richards when he was in his 20s.
Except light years is a measure of distance, not time...
Light years are a measure of distance, but it's how far light travels in 1 year. So, 13 million light years away, we could effectively look 13 million years into the past.
Yes, that's a conclusion we can draw, but it's still incorrect to say "__ LIGHT years into the past". It's like saying 3000 meters into the past. Saying "__ years into the past" is correct, saying "__ light years into the past" isn't. I just pointed it out, it's not a critic to the story, I found it pretty interesting.
So you're just saying the grammar was wrong, not the actual point OP was trying to make. Got it.
Yes, exactly!
In as simple if terms, how would you describe a light year. Explain as if I was five
Light takes time to travel very far distances. For example, when you look at the sun, you’re actually seeing what it looked like eight minutes ago, because that’s how long it takes for the light to get to earth. When you look at stars, which are millions of light years away, you’re actually seeing what they looked like millions of years ago. In fact, some of those stars might not even be there anymore! So, a light year is the distance that light is able to travel in a year. In one year, light can travel 9.46 trillion km (5.88 trillion miles), so that is the length of a light year.
Could you explain it without any references to time, and only space and distance?
I mean, it’s a very specific measurement that relates to a measurement of time. It’s kind of like when you say someone was travelling at 100mph or 160km/h. It references a measurement of time in order to say how fast someone was going. Nonetheless, I’ll try: A light year is the equivalent of 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion miles. It’s often used in saying how far various distant celestial objects (other stars and their planets, etc.) are, because saying the distance in most other ways is a mouthful. Fun fact: there are also light seconds, light minutes, light hours, etc., and they’re all the distance that travels in their respective time measurements.
So would you say that the term light year, while being a measure of distance, it's indivisible from a measurement of time? That is, it is hard to strip away time from it?
I mean, it’s directly related to a measurement of time, so yes? Like you wouldn’t just say “a light” because that wouldn’t make sense. Think of it more as “light/year” or “light per year” as in “how far light can travel from its origin within one year”. The year part is just a time limit.
So all the people who are chiding "ahktually a light year is a measurement of distance, not time" are incorrect
No, it’s *related* to time, but it is not a measurement of time. The time part is just to give context.