Why doesn't the light of billions of stars illuminate our nights?
In short: When we look at the night sky, it feels like a vast void. This video explores why space remains dark despite being filled with countless stars and how we often confuse distinct physical phenomena when trying to explain this mystery.
The core of the question lies in distinguishing between two different astronomical mysteries: why the sky appears pitch black from outer space even near the Sun, and why the collective light of billions of distant stars doesn't brighten our nights on Earth like the Sun does during the day.
Many common explanations fail because they conflate unrelated concepts—mixing complex theories like relativity and cosmology with simpler, incorrect ideas about light refraction. Understanding these nuances is essential to grasping how light behaves across different scales of the universe.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Why Is Space Dark And There Is Light On Earth?
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