23 ms·
If something doesn't shine already. The only way to detect its existence is to send radio waves and see if something bounces off(Like Radar). I guess the point
by kamaal 8y ago
If something doesn't shine already. The only way to detect its existence is to send radio waves and see if something bounces off(Like Radar).
I guess the point people are trying to make here. If you can't see light coming off an object, then while traveling at interstellar speeds means it will be harder to spot objects until they get too close.
- zaarn 8y agoNot all black objects reflect radar, black holes don't reflect at all. I think if you were to encounter a black hole, esp an inactive one, in interstellar space, you'd probably just get sucked in if you didn't notice the black disk...
- kamaal 8y agoI thought black holes typically have accretion disk.
- zaarn 8y agoOnly when active and sucking in matter. If a black hole has been travelling without eating for long enough the accretion disk can disappear. If a black hole is large enough it won't form an accretion disk either as it swallows stars whole.
- hvidgaard 8y agoThat is actually scary. When you travel in interstellar space, you can only travel in directions where you can see light at all times.
- leonroy 8y agoWhich actually becomes a problem in the far future when stars have moved further away from each other in an ever expanding universe and their light output becomes increasingly dim to a space faring traveller...
- hvidgaard 8y agoWhen I think about it, maybe it isn't a problem after all. I would think that you can measure gravity and see black holes before you hit them.
- Retric 8y agoYou can still detect the bent light around it from other stars. They would be significantly more obvious than planets, and you would actually reflect a tiny fraction of radar as it gets bent around the thing.