FOR THE RECORD!
A light year is defined as the distance that light travels in one Earth year. Light moves extremely fast: 300,000 km/s or 180,000 miles/second. In one second light can travel around Earth almost four times. Nothing travels faster, establishing light as the ultimate speed limit. In 31,536,000 seconds—one year—light will travel a distance of 9.46 trillion kilometers or 5.86 trillion miles, which is 240 million times around Earth. This distance equals one light year.
Because light travels so very fast, everything appears to happen instantly in our everyday experience. If we are watching the Baltimore Ravens kick a field goal, we assume that the ball is kicked right at the moment that we see it. In actuality we see the light that is being reflected from the ball, and it does take time for the light to travel from the ball to our eyes. If the distance from the ball to our eyes were 10 meters, the light reflecting off the ball would take only 300 millionths (.000003) of a second to reach our eyes, thus making it seem instantaneous.
Stars are millions and millions of kilometers away. To see a star, that star's light must travel across space to our eyes. If the star is 5 light years away, then the light we are seeing from that star took five years to travel to our eyes. It also means that what we see happening at that star is actually what happened five years ago, not what is happening at the star right now.
1 light year is 5.8 TRILLION MILES and the maximum speed of a NASA Space Shuttle is 17,500 miles per hour.
The fastest unmanned space craft traveled 157,000 mph. ..
Now if you traveled 5.8 trillion miles which is 1 light year it will take about 1 year ofcourse BUT it would seem as if no time at all had elapsed! So basically it would be like a time wrap machine. Instant.. Crazy..
Crazy Stuff..
Now how the heck can they see 20 light years away a planet almost 100 trillion miles away? Who knows ,,How the heck they know a planet is that far let alone life there
1. Imagine a planet with intelligent beings on it that is 20 light years away from Earth. These beings have an extremely powerful telescope and can actually make out details of what is happening on Earth. If they aim their telescope at the White House in Washington, DC, who would they find living there as the president and first lady?
2. Suppose that a child is born on Earth in the year 2000.You are on an imaginary planet that is 94.6 trillion kilometers away from Earth and looking through a very high-powered telescope and you witness this child's third birthday party. How old is that child on Earth at the time you are watching the child's third birthday party?
3. On another imaginary planet in the year 2000, someone is looking through a high-powered telescope aimed at Earth, and is observing America's Bicentennial celebration in Boston, Massachusetts. How many light-years away is the planet from Earth? How far away (in kilometers) is this planet?
ALL IN ALL THINK ABOUT THIS:
A PLANET THATS 20 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. IF WE LOOK THROUGH A TELESCOPE FROM EARTH TO THAT PLANET, WHERE ACTUALLY SEEING THEIR PAST ABOUT 5 YEARS BEHIND...CRAZY SHIT