the distance of the distant universe 2

This is the same scene in the SF that we saw this time. As the spacecraft speeds up in space, stars flow backward quickly out of the car window. SF movies have no choice but to show this kind of visual to express the sense of speed that we are familiar with, but what about the scenery outside when we actually travel in space.

In fact, because the distance from space is infinitely far, and the majority of space is empty, the outer landscape seen during space travel will be a boring scene with no change. In other words, it will be the same as lying on a clear night on Earth and looking at the night sky. There will be no sense of speed as the surrounding landscape recedes.

Why? Imagine the distance from space.

Alpha Centauri star, which is closest to Earth, is 4.3 light years away. This star is bound to be the closest star to a spacecraft that has started from Earth and moved into interstellar space.

4.3 years is 150,000 hours in time. Suppose light travels 1 billion km per hour, but it moves at a speed of 4 km, which is the same as a person walking. Then, when we move at the speed of light, the feeling of seeing an alpha centauri is the same as looking at an object that is only 600,000 km away as we walk.

When we walk, the nearby object recedes from my gaze, and we can feel a sense of speed there. But what if the object I see is only 600,000 km away? It will appear that the object is not moving at all when I walk away.

No matter how much I walk on the night path, the moon in the sky remains in place. However, the distance to the moon is 380,000 kilometers. Therefore, the alpha centauri seen from a spacecraft at the speed of light will not move more than the moon we see when we walk.

Alpha Centauri is the closest star. And we theoretically assumed the maximum speed of light travel. If even the nearest alpha centauri at the maximum speed of light does not move, the other visible stars at a speed lower than the speed of light will not show any real change. This is the truth of space travel.

Someone is protesting. Hey, that’s because our sun is on the edge of a galaxy where the stars are less dense. So of course, if you travel in the center of the galaxy where the stars are more dense and the distance between the stars is shorter, you’ll see the stars flow fast backward.

Is it? Even if the density of the center of the galaxy is 10,000 times higher than that of our surroundings, it is like we are walking and looking at an object 60 km away. You will feel as if nothing changes at all (far from Bukhansan Mountain from our dormitories).

The distance of the universe is far and wide, but it’s even more very, very draining than that