Looking Into the Past
In short: Following light outward from the Moon to a distant quasar shows that looking across space also means looking back in time.
A 1:51 short film in the series “Journey of Light”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: Chandra X-ray Center (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, operated for NASA), “Chandra :: Photo Album :: Cosmic Look-Back Time”; NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NASA Science, James Webb Space Telescope mission pages, “How Does Webb See Back in Time? - NASA Science”; NASA Glenn Research Center, “"Seeing" the Earth, Moon, and Sun to Scale”; NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NASA Science, “Facts About Earth”; NASA Science (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), “Cosmic Distances - NASA Science”; NASA Science (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Hubble Space Telescope), “Hubble Image of Proxima Centauri - NASA Science”; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Imagine the Universe!, HEASARC), “Imagine the Universe!”; NASA Science, “What is a light-year? - NASA Science”; NASA Science (Hubble Space Telescope), “Compass and Scale Image of Andromeda - NASA Science”; University of Liverpool (talk slides by Dr Steve Barrett, presented to Clydesdale Astronomical Society, 27 Oct 2025), “Misconceptions ClAS”.
Sources used in this film
- Chandra X-ray Center (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, operated for NASA) — Chandra :: Photo Album :: Cosmic Look-Back Time · View →
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NASA Science, James Webb Space Telescope mission pages — How Does Webb See Back in Time? - NASA Science · View →
- NASA Glenn Research Center — "Seeing" the Earth, Moon, and Sun to Scale · View →
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NASA Science — Facts About Earth · View →
- NASA Science (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) — Cosmic Distances - NASA Science · View →
- NASA Science (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Hubble Space Telescope) — Hubble Image of Proxima Centauri - NASA Science · View →
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Imagine the Universe!, HEASARC) — Imagine the Universe! · View →
- NASA Science — What is a light-year? - NASA Science · View →
- NASA Science (Hubble Space Telescope) — Compass and Scale Image of Andromeda - NASA Science · View →
- University of Liverpool (talk slides by Dr Steve Barrett, presented to Clydesdale Astronomical Society, 27 Oct 2025) — Misconceptions ClAS · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Chandra X-ray Center (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, operated for NASA): Chandra :: Photo Album :: Cosmic Look-Back Time
- Also: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NASA Science, James Webb Space Telescope mission pages: How Does Webb See Back in Time? - NASA Science
- Also: NASA Glenn Research Center: "Seeing" the Earth, Moon, and Sun to Scale
- Also: NASA Science — Facts About Earth
- Also: Cosmic Distances - NASA Science
- Also: NASA Science (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Hubble Space Telescope): Hubble Image of Proxima Centauri - NASA Science
- Also: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Imagine the Universe!, HEASARC): Imagine the Universe!
- Also: NASA Science: What is a light-year? - NASA Science
- Also: NASA Science (Hubble Space Telescope): Compass and Scale Image of Andromeda - NASA Science
- Also: University of Liverpool (talk slides by Dr Steve Barrett, presented to Clydesdale Astronomical Society, 27 Oct 2025): Misconceptions ClAS
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