Confession.
Mentorshot.
We can only see fainter (and hence less massive) stars out to smaller distances and these stars are more likely to end their lives in less violent but more common deaths. This complicates the estimate of the ‘death rate’ for visible stars. But we can choose an intermediate distance, say 1,000 light-years, to estimate this number.
We need to establish a couple of things first. Number one, light travels at a finite speed, denoted “c” by astronomers, and that speed is 300,000,000 m/s, or just over a BILLION km/h. Yeah… it’s fast! A finite speed means it takes time for light to get places, and the further something is away, the longer it takes to get there. Makes sense, right?
When looking at stars, you’re actually looking into the past. Many of the stars we see at night have already died.
I saw this most recently on the Twitter feed for ÜberFacts, which, apparently, sometimes posts incorrect (and commonly unsourced) “facts.” This is one of them.
And that’s why I don’t like that explanation. The stars in the sky are still alive, and so are the stars on the camera. They exist, and they are ingrained within common culture. Immortality is no more quantified in the amount of years lived, but in the data compiled into a legible and permanent form.
As immortality became more and more accessible, so is the status of the stars on the screen.
It’s a pleasant aphorism, isn’t it?
In any case, next time on SOTF-TV...
In any case, next time on SOTF-TV...