How come space is like dark? When the sun is out there, shouldn't it be bright from the sunlight?
Turns out, this is a question that has been around for centuries. It is attributed to an astronomer Heinrich Olbers, and bears the name Olbers' (sometimes called Olber's) paradox. Your inquiry motivated me to do a web search -- I thought the answer was simple, I was missing something obvious, and a quick refresher would supply a profoundly simple answer. I was badly mistaken!
The paradox arises by assuming 1. The universe is an infinite Euclidian space. 2. The age of the universe is infinite. 3. Matter is uniformly distributed. 4. The universe is static.
The terms "infinite" and "static" not literally, but sufficiently large to be approximated by these terms. None of these assumptions is exactly true and some "explanations" just say the assumptions are wrong therefore there is no paradox. Sorry, but that is just avoiding the issue. It is clear that we do not "see" all the radiation in the universe and if we could see everything from cosmic rays to microwaves, the sky would be uniformly bright, but that too is only a conjecture because at the present time we cannot "see" all the radiation in the universe at all wavelengths (energies). Ronald Koster has proposed a resolution which may be correct, that says that we are shielded from radiation originating very far away and gives a simple calculation that he contends resolves the paradox, but I'm not an astrophysicist, so I am not able to assess the correctness of his arguments.
uhh I hoped that helped hahah I don't think there is a direct answer though. it's really philosophical and I don't believe humans could obtain that kind of knowledge...it's really subliminal...
of course, captainassassin always has to come in, vague and never meticulous. . .
speaking of illumination,, what about antimatter. o: one drop could light New York City for a week or so. (don't quote me on the duration)
it's also highly radioactive. it's been discussed thus far as people find it a solution to our energy problem. . .
but it's been set back because of fears of terrorists or others wanting to get their hands on it. . .
it's both good and bad I guess. : /
Because space is basiclly empty so there is nothing to refract or reflect the light from the sun. But put a planet, comet or even a piece of paper in space and the sun will reflect off of it.
I hope you do not take offense,
To that that's gone before;
'Tis only that it's my two-cents,
And not one penny more. ยง;o)
of course, captainassassin always has to come in, vague and never meticulous. . .
It was a simple question... regarding scale. ANTI-MATTER has nothing to do with it. And aren't you the same person who said horses can levitate, and wasps don't sting?
Yes... you are...
It's not everyday I can find someone with an inferiority complex.
As ethmer says: There's nothing to refract the light. Although there's stars practically anywhere you look, most of them are too far away to shed appreciable light on us.
During the day, our atmosphere refracts light, giving the sky its blue color. If we had no atmosphere, even during the day the sky would be black.
wow that is a good question. I wish I knew the answer :/ let's see if anyone else knows O:
That's like trying to illuminate the Superdome with a cigarette...
I know it is I ask my teachers all the time:d lol