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Comments
ObligatoryOption t1_iu60qjw wrote
> Like, how we orbit the sun and turn in different ways, why would we not see different parts of space in the sky throughout the year?
We do. Look up in winter and you see the winter sky, the set of constellations that are on that side of the sun. Six months later when the earth is on the other side you see the summer sky, the set of constellations that are on the other side. If we could see stars on a summer day then we would see the winter sky in daytime (and the summer sky at night of course). As the earth orbits the sun, the dark side of the planet provides a view of the surrounding space that pans a little bit every night.
99percentTSOL t1_iu5x120 wrote
If stars were brighter you would see them during the day. There is documented history of stars going supernova and being visible during the day and brighter than the moon at night.
Dry_Band7748 t1_iu5yr3a wrote
We don't see the stars during the day because of the really bright fucker ~93 million miles away lol. In seriousness, yes if the day was dark we would see the stars, as the seasons change the constellations do move and depending on where you are on earth you'll see different ones. We wouldn't really see a different part of space because it's technically moving with us around the center of our galaxy (the part of space in the galaxy that is). At least how I understand it
Marijn_fly t1_iu61tnx wrote
Yes, during a solar eclipse, you can see stars.
H4LEY420 OP t1_iu6dqb0 wrote
Different than you see at night, stars?
Ape_Togetha_Strong t1_iu623y7 wrote
Not a dumb question. There are lots of different levels of explanation for this. But at the deepest level, the answer is "because the universe has a beginning".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox
But there's still light from stars we can't see (with our eyes, at least) reaching us, so the fact that the universe has a beginning doesn't explain why there are so few that are visible. And that really just comes down to distance. Stuff is really far apart, and light gets dimmer the further away you are. The distance the earth orbits around the sun is too small to make a difference in what stars we see, but we do see different stars at different times of year because we can only see them at night, so the direction of stars we see is "away from the sun", which changes as we orbit. There are also stars you can only see in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.
H4LEY420 OP t1_iu6e2bu wrote
That's nuts, how absolutely small even our 'enormous' solar system really is.
ChrisARippel t1_iu6ao1t wrote
The Zodiac constellations are associated with different months because as the Earth revolves around the Sun, the Sun blocks the Earth's view of the constellation associated with that month.
For example, my birthday is September 17. I am a Virgo. The reason I am a Virgo is because the Sun blocks Virgo during September. In October, the Earth's orbit makes the Sun block another constellation and Virgo can be seen again.
In summary, the Earth's orbit makes different constellations and their stars visible through the year. So there are seasonal constellations.
Diligent-Jackfruit45 t1_iu5zq1k wrote
Space is vast. Like so big that you cant comprehend the distances involved. The stars we see in the night sky are very far away hence we dont have a revolving door of guest stars in our sight line. Think of it like this: if you see a mountain in the distance and you run 5 miles in any direction, the mountain doesnt appear to have moved at all, even though you know you moved 5 miles. As the distance between objects increases, the angle of the triangle formed from the observed object, your previous position, and the current position shrinks to imperceptible.
[deleted] t1_iu5zwu0 wrote
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bettinafairchild t1_iu620os wrote
I just want to say that this is a good question, not a dumb question. We talked about this in my astrophysics course, as, given the vastness of space and the innumerable stars out there, there should be more stars visible. They are still exploring this but if I recall correctly, one of the hypotheses was "dark matter".
H4LEY420 OP t1_iu6dxla wrote
Thank you! That's actually kind of freaky ngl. What I've read about dark matter makes me slightly uncomfortable and anxious and small, yet amazed and curious
space-ModTeam t1_iu69zfn wrote
Hello u/H4LEY420, your submission "the stars and why we don't see others? (sorry if it's a dumb question)" has been removed from r/space because:
- Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.
Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.
Mystic_L t1_iu5xu37 wrote
If it were dark during the day you’d see stars yes.
What we see at night does change, you’ll see the constellations move across the sky as the night progresses. And this will change slightly over days and weeks as the earth wobbles on its axis, but essentially we’re going round the sun in one plane of rotation, and the stars are really really far away so their motion makes no difference to the position we see them in.