Astronomy
Looking up is time travel
Guide: the Star Owl · 2 wonders
Wonders of Astronomy
Astronomy
How much would a spoonful of a star weigh?
It depends on the star. A teaspoon of a neutron star — the ultra-compressed core left behind when a giant star dies — would weigh hundreds of millions of tons, like a whole mountain. It's the densest matter that exists without becoming a black hole.
Read the wonder → AstronomyWhen you look at a star, are you seeing the past?
Light is fast but not infinite, so you see each star as it was years or millennia ago. The Sun's light arrives 8 minutes late; the light from Polaris set out around 1590. Some stars you can see with the naked eye have already died: you're looking at ghosts.
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