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How Old Is This Light?
5 min · Eve · Quiet listening
Eve
How Old Is This Light?
Eve is reading this story.
Eve is ready
How to say it
Eve can say these names for you.
Tap a name. She will say it slowly.
Sunlight is about eight minutes old. The nearest other star is more than four years of light away. Looking up is a way of looking back. The sky is a museum of light, still arriving.
Light race
How long to arrive
Light is the fastest thing there is. It still takes time. This race is compressed. We will not make you wait four years.
Moonabout 1.3 seconds
Sunabout 8 minutes
Proximaabout 4.24 years
Try it tonight
- If the Moon is up, blink once, slowly. That is roughly how old its light is.
- Pick a star. You cannot feel its delay. You can remember that the spark left home long before it reached you.