6. How does looking far into the universe allow us to look back in time

Question

6. How does looking far into the universe allow us to look back in time

Answer 1

You look back in time and wonder why you wasted time looking far into the universe.  

Answer 2

LindaJune is correct. You are seeing light that left an object some finite amount of time ago. So you are seeing the object as it existed back then, not "now" in our sense of the word. Even when you look across the room, you are seeing things as they occurred a very small fraction of a second ago, because it took the light a fraction of a second to carry that information to your eye.

With a decent back yard telescope, you can see galaxies that are 60 million light years away. Since it took the light 60 million years to cross that incredible void, you are seeing that galaxy as it actually existed about the time that the dinosaurs died out here on Earth. If we could see it today (and we can't), it would probably look a lot different and be in a different place in our sky.  

Answer 3

Its not looking back in time. The Bible says that all stars were created on the same day and their light is seen from earth.

Answer 4

light has a finite speed.  so it takes time to get here.  you see what it was like when the light started its journey to your eye.  

Answer 5

Homework alert.

If light takes a finite time to reach us, and we are looking at something that is say 2 billion light years away, it has taken the light 2 billion years to reach us.  So that is like looking back in time, since the light we are seeing left that object 2 billion years ago.