Can stars tell us something?

Few of the stars we see are "dead." The "dead" ones usually come in two categories, 1. supernova's which will light up our day sky like the Moon or a second Sun (and are exceedingly rare) or 2. the left over remnants of Supernova's. These are usually White Dwarfs. There are also red dwarfs, brown dwarfs, etc., but without a Telescope they are to dim to see.

And yes, they can tell us a whole lot, about us, about our future and much more. We know our sun is a 3rd Generation star (2 others have come before it). We know that is why we have so many heavy metals (anything above Carbon or Iron is fused or made in a Supernova). And we have allot of heavy metals compared to many stars. We know our bodies are made from these ingredients (left over materials from the last stars), as our planets are too. They tell us how our Universe works and slowly we're becoming technologically advanced enough to prove many theories that before were unprovable, i.e., is there another Universe, are there gravity waves, etc.? Slowly we're learning not just where we come from, but the Universe, too. And also how it may end.

We've also gotten our modern technology, for the most part from the Space Race. We've gotten Satellites (T.V., Cell Phones, Satellite weather, etc.), Microwaves, Dried and Frozen Foods, CAT Scans (originally used on the metal in Rockets), PET Scans, etc., Velcro, not to mention (at one time) over 500,000 jobs. Global Positioning System: The mankind depends on the sea trade for transportation of food grains, fossil fuels, metal ores, etc. Global navigation system, GPS helps in timely delivery of these essential goods by providing the ships with essential navigation information. The GNS services are made available using networks of satellites which also enables satellite Internet and satellite phones.

Weather Forecast and Agriculture: Gone are the days, when we used to take an umbrella with us while going out if there were black clouds in the sky. Now we can rely on the weather reports updated on an hourly basis. The accurate weather forecast is possible only because of the satellites in the space. The satellites also help us in predicting the crop yields, pest infestation and the area under cultivation.

Natural Calamities: It is easy to predict natural calamities such as floods, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and to locate wildfires and their extent with the help of satellites.

Minerals and Mining: Minerals buried deep under the Earth's surface can be located using satellites. Precious fossil fuels can be found with the help of satellites.

Electronics: The field of electronics and computers have also benefited from the space exploration. The astronauts have manufactured miniature electronic parts that could only be produced in the space during their experiments in the space stations and space shuttles.

Asteroids: It is believed that an asteroid strike eliminated the dinosaurs on the Earth. One of the benefits of space exploration is that we know about the thousands of asteroids and we can also be vigilant about their "drifts". May be we could prevent 'dinosaurian death of mankind', if and when an asteroid is positioned to repeat history. If it happens, it would be because of the knowledge which is the direct benefit of space exploration.

Energy Source: The scientists and researchers all over the world are attempting to harness the power of nuclear fusion. The process which enables the Sun to produce energy in abundance. It is believed that quantity of electricity generated using 1kg of hydrogen would be equivalent to that of 11,000 metric tons of coal.

Medicine: Another field to glean the benefits of the satellite exploration is that of medicine. Metal alloys that are manufactured to be used in spacecraft and space shuttles are also used in the health care industry. Nitinol, an alloy is used to make braces. The miniature electronic components which were developed for the space program can be used in electronic pain-control device that some patients need to use. The implantable insulin pump is based on the mechanical robot arm developed for the Mars Voyager probe.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/space-exploration-b...

No, Niki is wrong - the light does come a long way, so we are seeing something from the past, but they are different distances. Alpha Centauri is only around 4 light years away, so the light we see is only from about 4 years ago.

However, one thing Niki said is right. since the light from far away stars comes from many thousands or even millions of years ago, it proves that the universe is millions of years old.

I used the patterns of the stars this evening to guide myself when I got a little lost- the shape of the Plough showed me where the North star was, so that definately told me something.

Studying the light from stars with special equipment tells us about what chemicals are in those stars. with this we learnt that our Sun is a star. We used other equipment to discover planets aroun those millions of stars, so although we haven't actually found life yet, we now know that there must be millions of planets out there like ours.

Yes, Stars can tell us something think of the time since you were born till know you have learned to walk, run, talk, eat, sleep and so much more so if our brains can do this we can recognize each star and use it as a map to travel the universe.

Essentially the stars are very far from Earth and have absolutely no influence or interest in Earth. They are beautiful to look at, and their study tells us much about the Universe and our place in it, but really they tell us nothing of use in our daily lives.

they tell us that the universe is expanding because the light from them is shifted towards the red (the dead spots in the light band from light absorption are shifted down.) And we know the galaxies that are farther away are moving away faster than the closer ones because they have a larger red shift. And, since 1998, we know the rate of expansion of the universe is accelerating because... well read the link.

I both to find it fascinating and think that the men and women in my contacts will have to see it. Or I get a excellent chuckle about it and i'd hate myself for ever if I did not star it and provides the individual credit score for being so shrewd. LOL. Here have a celebrity!

stars make you to ask questions about everything

Yes. They can tell us about stellar evolution and the past and future of the universe.

They tell us that we're looking at something that's been dead for 1000 years. The stars we see are dead. So remember when you wish soon a star, a star is dead...just like your wish.

They can tell what their age is.