3 ms·
The fact is that 250 light-years is not "near" the sun. Unless you're an astronomer, there's no practical difference between something that is 2 light years or
by Rebelgecko 6y ago
The fact is that 250 light-years is not "near" the sun. Unless you're an astronomer, there's no practical difference between something that is 2 light years or 2,000,000 light years away. Both distances are equally unattainable. Saying that something is near "the sun" (as opposed to a more generic area like "the solar system") makes it sound like it's much closer than it actually is. Imagine if the article said that the stars were near "Dallas Texas". It would be equally true (±0.001%), but IMO the extra specificity is misleading
- FalconSensei 6y agoExactly. They are not specifically near 'our sun'. They are near our system. The title (because of the specificity), seems to say that they are in our solar system, or so close that you could consider it like that
- waheoo 6y agoYup, super weird sentence. It reads as if it is either between us and the sun, or close enough that you'd see it roughly up to the same distance we are from the sun.