Perhaps a very stupid question!

777Driver

777Driver
Ok guy's don't laugh.. :) If I look at a star that is 20LY away, I am seeing light that has taken 20 years to reach me? So does that not mean the star is actually in a different position in the night sky? I enjoy reading about the galaxy and universe, and try to wrap my mind around relativity, but I can't seem to find an answer to that question..

To relate this to ED, when It tells me to align with the star 30LY away, is pointing directly at the star an accurate alignment?

Cheers!
 

flint read

flint read
yes you are correct that star your seeing is WAS in that position 20 years ago as that's how long the light has taken to reach the viewer :D

maybe out onboard computers simply compensate for this or realign during witchspace based on closer and closer scans of the targets mass differential in subspace,
 

Nathan60

N
Not a stupid question, I am no expert but if the universe is expanding and you are looking at something many light years away surely it has moved, right? I am sure however if we could make ly jumps then the nav computers would be able to figure for this.
 

Tigga

T
Stars don't move very fast relative to each other, especially if they're close. Think about it: are the constilations we see today really that different then the ones we saw 20, or even 200 years ago?
 

blacky75

blacky75
777Driver said:
Ok guy's don't laugh.. :) If I look at a star that is 20LY away, I am seeing light that has taken 20 years to reach me? So does that not mean the star is actually in a different position in the night sky? I enjoy reading about the galaxy and universe, and try to wrap my mind around relativity, but I can't seem to find an answer to that question..

To relate this to ED, when It tells me to align with the star 30LY away, is pointing directly at the star an accurate alignment?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

I never decided to ask that... but it's of a great interest. Why? My question is similar to yours: If you see a 20Ly star far away... and you travel/jump to.... the star might be dead that time as as you stated right: what you saw is how it was 20 light years ago!!!!

Some rep for that!
 

JulianR94

J
777Driver said:
Ok guy's don't laugh.. :) If I look at a star that is 20LY away, I am seeing light that has taken 20 years to reach me? So does that not mean the star is actually in a different position in the night sky? I enjoy reading about the galaxy and universe, and try to wrap my mind around relativity, but I can't seem to find an answer to that question..

To relate this to ED, when It tells me to align with the star 30LY away, is pointing directly at the star an accurate alignment?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Since light from our sun takes around 8minutes and 20secs, we're seeing the sun as it was more than 8 minutes ago. Same applies for all stars in the universe. A star that is 30 LY away from us could be (just observing it with our eyes) already dead, but we will only know in 30 years.

I don't have extensive astronomical knowledge but since all the systems are actually moving in space AFAIK, it should be the case that targeting another star far away from your position should set the position of the marker off. However, it would be VERY difficult to implement that and it would be just too confusing. I like seeing where I am actually jumping to.

On a side note: doesn't the FSD actually fold space? If so, it would be (other than defying the laws of physics of course :D) kind of a time-travel? Maybe I'm just rambling about something I have no clue about but yeah, it's food for thought. But as I already said, it's a game and I think it's nice the way it is.
 
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deMangler

deMangler
Also need to remember that there is no universal present moment. From the perspective of the star you are looking at you are also 20 years ago. In fact you would have to travel in time get there "now" as well as space because there is no "now".
What we see is only here and now for us. We never actually see anything "over there" because it is.... over there. What we see is information that is here, and now, that tells us about then, and there....

ok stopping now....
 

flint read

flint read
Tigga said:
Stars don't move very fast relative to each other, especially if they're close. Think about it: are the constellations we see today really that different then the ones we saw 20, or even 200 years ago?
Click to expand...

this is true for the most part out here in the galactic boon docks but closer in to the core you would see quite drastic changes even over a human life time and closer still you would notice changes in constellations in months and years as stars whip round the super massive black hole at the centre rendering the idea of constellations useless.

computers could still model and account for this though :D

having said all that it's all relative though ;)
 
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Derath

D
I like to view the cosmos as a backwards facing time machine, where you can see thousands of years ago merely because you are so far away the event hasn't reached us yet its really awe inspiring actually and does good for the humility of the soul.

As traceracing said above, you could jump to a star and find out its gone, or its changed form its truly amazing.
 

flint read

flint read
no need to feel embarrassed it's not a stupid question in fact it's one of the most interesting questions i've seen here in ages :D
 

deMangler

deMangler
Traceracing said:
So in theory you could jump to a star to find it no longer exists.... :)
Click to expand...

Everything we see no longer exists. Because to say that something exists now, is physically the same as saying it exists here. And to say we see it over there, is the same as saying it was there. If English reflected reality we would always talk about stuff that is not here in the past tense. But anyway usually if we go there we will find that a later version of it is still there by the time we arrive, which will then be now, because it is here. But not always. Sometimes people wander off by the time I get to them. Especially if I am talking about physics. So yes.
 

Jay8ch

J
Yes, it's fascinating that even the person standing right next to us isn't exactly where they appear to be. It's a mind bogglingly small difference, but it still means we never experience absolute reality.
 

micky1up

Banned
micky1up
777Driver said:
Ok guy's don't laugh.. :) If I look at a star that is 20LY away, I am seeing light that has taken 20 years to reach me? So does that not mean the star is actually in a different position in the night sky? I enjoy reading about the galaxy and universe, and try to wrap my mind around relativity, but I can't seem to find an answer to that question..

To relate this to ED, when It tells me to align with the star 30LY away, is pointing directly at the star an accurate alignment?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

No such thing as a stupid question just stupid answers
 

Synthetic Frost

Synthetic Frost
You're absolutely right, but keep in mind that when talking about astronomical distances, 20Ly is next door. While the universe is expanding, galaxies are moving, and stars aren't exactly in the same place they were twenty years ago, the actual physical bodies of the stars aren't moving at anything close to light speed, so it takes hundreds of years for them to actually move at a significant measurable amount.

For example. Polaris, the north star, isn't actually visibly aligned with the North Celestial Pole of our planet. And won't be aligned until March of the year 2100. But since Polaris is 435Ly away, it "actually" aligned in 1665. It'll just take another 85 years for us to see where it was in 1665. But remember we're talking very minute distances. In 1665, it still LOOKED like it was the North Star to the naked eye. From our perspective it's barely moved.
 

flint read

flint read
we are dangerously close (no pun intended) to pointing out that what you perceive as reality is in fact just the model you have constructed for your own convenience in your neuron net to navigate the reality that may or indeed may not be out side of your skull.

i have to stop posting now the voices said so...................
 

DenzilDexter

DenzilDexter
blacky75 said:
I never decided to ask that... but it's of a great interest ....... what you saw is how it was 20 light years ago!!!!
Click to expand...

I think you mean 20 years ago. A light year is a measure of distance and not time, approximately 6000000000000 miles. I get your point though.
 

deMangler

deMangler
DenzilDexter said:
I think you mean 20 years ago. A light year is a measure of distance and not time, approximately 6000000000000 miles. I get your point though.
Click to expand...
Distance is time.

edit, ok they are both interpretations of the same thing that is easier to express mathematically. Normal English usage is going to lead me into a pedantic overload if I don't stop.
I am stopping now because I cannot replace the internet, which has some great info about this and I am only continuing to post because I am bored....
 
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Huita

Huita
Would be funny to jump into regular boring system 10000 ly from sol and end up jumping into supernova.
 
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