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Asked by danielsmith1998 to Sam, Claire, Kate, Matt, Rob on 17 Jun 2013. This question was also asked by jamesagrear.
Question: If I were to put a massive mirror 1 light year away from earth would we be able to see earth 1 year ago in the refkection?
- Keywords:
- earth,
- light,
- reflection,
- space,
- time
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Sam Geen answered on 17 Jun 2013:
2 years ago! Remember the light has to travel there and back, which is 2 light years. But sure, why not? It’d be super hard to do, and you’d have to have a huge telescope to pick up the light (telescopes can only see things of a certain size due to light “diffracting”, which is where it blurs as it goes through a gap like a telescope tube). But it’s theoretically possible.
- Keywords:
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Matthew Pankhurst answered on 17 Jun 2013:
Awesome idea. If you can get ahead of the light from earth, you don’t need a mirror – just look back (and squint – it will be a long way away!) Bring a packed lunch – you’ll be away for a long time….!
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Claire Lee answered on 19 Jun 2013:
Very cool, hey!
Also – if you could somehow teleport yourself, say, 100 million light years away, with an amazing gigantic telescope, you could watch the dinosaurs roam around!
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