Wonder of ScienceA mesmerizing timelapse of the Sun in ultraviolet light, captured by the SDO spacecraft over the course of a month.
Credit: NASA/SDO
#sun #nasa #space #astronomy
paprikapink@wonderofscience Why is the sun surrounded by "the blackness of space"? It's right there, being The Sun. It should be *shining,* right?
ShhhStephen@wonderofscience @paprikapink For all intents and purposes, the blackness of space is empty. That is to say, there is nothing for the light to reflect off of, so we don’t see it. All the light produced in the sun (or any star) moves out in all directions until it hits something that might reflect it towards us. The photons headed in our direction are detected by our optical sensors, unlike the light going in other directions.
@ShhhStephen @wonderofscience I was afraid this would be the answer. Someone recently told a joke that ended with "the moon has no light, it just reflects the sun." And that was cute. But the thing is the sun doesn't shine either. No moon, no Venus & Earth et al, no us? No sunshine. This is sending me down a philosophical rabbit hole. There's a poem, or a koan, or a baffling occult ritual in here somewhere, but I can't quite thinkfeel all the way to it.
@paprikapink @wonderofscience I don’t know the joke, but it is true that the light we see from the 🌘is sunlight reflecting off the moon’s surface! The ☀️_does_ shine. Photons are constantly created deep within stars and once they get to the surface they zoom away at incredible speed. ⭐️ We can only see the light that zooms towards us; ☀️ is bright because it creates light and 🌖is less bright because it only reflects some sunlight to 🌍
@ShhhStephen
Yes all the photons zoom and so on. But what we call shining? That's only happening when we observe it. It's our eyes that let there be light. I am now imagining a distant planet where the humanoids and all of the other beings do not observe light. I want a Star Trek crew to visit it and have their preconceptions about senses and science and existence ROCKED.
Yes all the photons zoom and so on. But what we call shining? That's only happening when we observe it. It's our eyes that let there be light. I am now imagining a distant planet where the humanoids and all of the other beings do not observe light. I want a Star Trek crew to visit it and have their preconceptions about senses and science and existence ROCKED.
@paprikapink “shining” for stars is that they create light. Just as 🔦 shines light; if I turn it on but close my eyes, the light is still created and moving away from the 💡. When I open my eyes, I will see the light.
It certainly would be interesting to meet a species of humanoids that do not see light, but we do not need to go so far. Many humans on 🌍 are blind from birth. Persons without any eyesight can only listen to explanations about light, and learn from those than can see.
@ShhhStephen
😊 exploring possibilities and meaning on a fictional planet where vision does not exist, as a way to open one's mind to different perspectives on reality in one's own world, might be revalatory in a way that is akin to trying to understand what someone else is saying
😊 exploring possibilities and meaning on a fictional planet where vision does not exist, as a way to open one's mind to different perspectives on reality in one's own world, might be revalatory in a way that is akin to trying to understand what someone else is saying