Why don't we receive light from all the Stars in the Universe?
There are about 6000 stars that are clearly visible to the naked eye above Earth. Yet we know that there are millions of stars in the universe. Since all stars are putting out light and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation and since light can travel for huge distances in space, why can't we see all the stars?
All stars, like our Sun, send out a huge amount of electromagnetic radiation, including light. However, that light spreads out with distance, making it so that only a tiny fraction reaches us. In addition, depending on the temperature of the star, the main color of light sent out by the star changes. Cooler stars put out redder light, hotter stars put out blue or white light. Generally, colors like white or blue are stronger colors (shorter wavelength, higher frequency) and can be seen more easily at far distances than reds, oranges or yellows. Also, some stars are simply larger than others and send out more light.
There are about 6000 stars that are clearly visible to the naked eye above Earth. Yet we know that there are millions of stars in the universe. Since all stars are putting out light and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation and since light can travel for huge distances in space, why can't we see all the stars?
All stars, like our Sun, send out a huge amount of electromagnetic radiation, including light. However, that light spreads out with distance, making it so that only a tiny fraction reaches us. In addition, depending on the temperature of the star, the main color of light sent out by the star changes. Cooler stars put out redder light, hotter stars put out blue or white light. Generally, colors like white or blue are stronger colors (shorter wavelength, higher frequency) and can be seen more easily at far distances than reds, oranges or yellows. Also, some stars are simply larger than others and send out more light.