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Q&A: General Astronomy and Space Science
Q:
What is going on out there? Are we perhaps living at the speed
of light? Is motion of exploding stars visible by the Chandra
telescope? All photos of celestial objects I have seen depict
objects as stationary.
A:
It sometimes seems we are living at the speed of light, so that
time goes slowly, but sometimes it feels like life is going by
at the speed of light! Most of the objects are so far away that
Chandra cannot see them move, but by making images over a period
of several years, we may be able to detect motion in some
objects that are less than a few thousand light years
away.