They would see a Roman Dictator and General have a peaceful get together with friends
Grant_Winner_Extra on
If they could see human-sized features on the earth from 2,000 light years away…. They can probably violate causality too
Gold_Weekend6240 on
Erhhhhh I think they will seee the Han Dynasty
PreOpTransCentaur on
Thaaaat’s how light years work, yeah.
Agheratos on
Woah, someone 2,000 light years away would see light from 2,00p years ago?
WHO KNEW?
NT-Shiyosa092201 on
Wait, wasn’t there a manga like this? An alien girl looked at Earth through her Light-year telescope and fell in love with a boy. >!She then decides to learn Earth’s Japanese language and then went to the city the boy lived at, but by the time she arrived, the place was already ruins.!<
“What a fascinating individual! The humans should name a salad after them.”
“Glorbukochk, what the fuck is a salad?”
nailbunny2000 on
I know basic math, yes.
alarming_wrong on
they could tape it and bring it over for us to watch?
WhoKnewSomethingOnce on
They’ll not see anything other than some markers for life in our environment.
JG98 on
No shit.
madson_sweet on
Imagine them watching human history like a show “I’m tired of watching Liu Xiu, what is that new guy Pilate up to in Judaea?”
rutujz on
“oh fuck that guy just stabbed the other guy in the back. Are you looking at this”
FasziSanyi69 on

_JFN_ on
A civilization 7 light minutes away would see me taking a dump
oilfeather on
Harry Turtledove touched on this in his Worldwar series of books.
WonderfulSomewhere93 on
Not if they are looking at asia, america, austrailia etc
faisalsahar on
U mean thosw little people can be seen ?
Gullible-Law3037 on
or jesus just chilling as a carpenter.
Own-Shelter-9897 on
Yeah, something like this and yet people freak out about aliens not visiting us.
Could go 50/50 when they do notice though.
Brief_Cellist_5902 on
Let’s be real, there is probably no optical tools that would let the alien civilization see the Earth in so much detail, only thing that could transmit our presence here is radio broadcasts starting in the 20th century.
There is an approximately 100 light year bubble around the Earth in which you would have to be, to hear us, and even then, you would have to solely focus on our planet specifically.
Th3_Mast3ry on
People should stop trying to make some of these science fiction seem viable. The Dyson sphere concept will never be implemented.
SunoGotFuked on
Never thought it that way
Makes so much sense now
EggstaticAd8262 on
Is traveling at near speed of light the same as time traveling?
When we look out into the universe, we’re looking at outdated information.
If we could travel the speed of light, then during (given we have 100% accurate optics) then things things on earth would look the same, but once we stop (given we could stop instantly), then would we then be looking at an outdated version of earth as it was 2000 years ago?
ScrubbingTheDeck on
“we can take em”
Arrives to find an array of orbital laser platforms waiting for them
Rebrado on
Or the Jianwu era.
FlaneurEpicurie on
What if they could zoom in?
B_A_Beder on
Yes that is how light, lightyears, and years work
redditbattles on
Lowest effort post in a while.
BlazedBeard95 on
That’s assuming they are limited by what we consider to be the extreme limit of cosmic observation. If this supposed alien species has the capability to see us from 2,000 light years away to actually see the people living on Earth, they likely would have technology far greater than anything we could even imagine, and thus see us as we are right now, and not what we were based on the light that has reached them. A terrifying thought, especially if this civilization were anything like who we are now.
Ishmael_1851 on
And nothing else because that’s the only thing that existed at the time right?
Redbeardthe1st on
If they had enough resolution to make out the goings on on the surface of a planet 2000 light-years away.
semaj420 on
wouldn’t they see a tiny, black dot as it passes in front of our star?
qY81nNu on
Jealous
Button_eyes_ on
Thats kinda mind blowing…theyd see people long dead . This also means the same for us
tetlee on
I guess if they were to fly to us, presumably at near light speed everything would be at 2x speed from their perspective
MaliciousMilkshake on
🧠💥
Illesbogar on
I mean, when the mediterrainian happens to face towards them and if they can zoom in enough and have a clear enouh picture.
misterpoopybutthole5 on
Yeah dude that’s how light years work. If they were 5 lightyears away, they’d see me doing whatever the fuck I was doing 5 years ago, if they were 25 lightyears away they’d have the pleasure of watching 9/11 for the first time
Neat_School666 on
This is the plot of Turtledoves Worldwar series
BEDZEDS on
It’s not actually true because the earth is flat
Present-Arm-6023 on
Yes thats how time and space work.

BristowBailey on
If we found a planet 1,000 light-years away with a big mirror on it, we could see the Roman Empire for ourselves.
I mean, it would look really small / far away, but theoretically.
0x14f on
… and if they are intelligent, they will probably quickly put together a drop and send it at relativistic speed towards the sun to annihilate it and kill us in the process, before our technological arc put us on a path to become more advanced than them by the time we discover them
StuffMonster77 on
No wonder we don’t get visitors if the first thing they see is the colosseum in full swing.
Might as well put up a sign saying: Aliens don’t come (unless you want to be in a match with an oiled muscular guy who is armed)
exmuslimnfree on
Fake news. How would they look so close?
Thundechile on
It’s not that simple, it depends the relative speed and directions of the civilizations in space.
47 Comments
They would see a Roman Dictator and General have a peaceful get together with friends
If they could see human-sized features on the earth from 2,000 light years away…. They can probably violate causality too
Erhhhhh I think they will seee the Han Dynasty
Thaaaat’s how light years work, yeah.
Woah, someone 2,000 light years away would see light from 2,00p years ago?
WHO KNEW?
Wait, wasn’t there a manga like this? An alien girl looked at Earth through her Light-year telescope and fell in love with a boy. >!She then decides to learn Earth’s Japanese language and then went to the city the boy lived at, but by the time she arrived, the place was already ruins.!<
I found it. [10,000 Light-Year Binoculars](https://mangadex.org/chapter/f449c4f2-4ce4-4c6a-b7e5-fa6226fde08f)
“What a fascinating individual! The humans should name a salad after them.”
“Glorbukochk, what the fuck is a salad?”
I know basic math, yes.
they could tape it and bring it over for us to watch?
They’ll not see anything other than some markers for life in our environment.
No shit.
Imagine them watching human history like a show “I’m tired of watching Liu Xiu, what is that new guy Pilate up to in Judaea?”
“oh fuck that guy just stabbed the other guy in the back. Are you looking at this”

A civilization 7 light minutes away would see me taking a dump
Harry Turtledove touched on this in his Worldwar series of books.
Not if they are looking at asia, america, austrailia etc
U mean thosw little people can be seen ?
or jesus just chilling as a carpenter.
Yeah, something like this and yet people freak out about aliens not visiting us.
Could go 50/50 when they do notice though.
Let’s be real, there is probably no optical tools that would let the alien civilization see the Earth in so much detail, only thing that could transmit our presence here is radio broadcasts starting in the 20th century.
There is an approximately 100 light year bubble around the Earth in which you would have to be, to hear us, and even then, you would have to solely focus on our planet specifically.
People should stop trying to make some of these science fiction seem viable. The Dyson sphere concept will never be implemented.
Never thought it that way
Makes so much sense now
Is traveling at near speed of light the same as time traveling?
When we look out into the universe, we’re looking at outdated information.
If we could travel the speed of light, then during (given we have 100% accurate optics) then things things on earth would look the same, but once we stop (given we could stop instantly), then would we then be looking at an outdated version of earth as it was 2000 years ago?
“we can take em”
Arrives to find an array of orbital laser platforms waiting for them
Or the Jianwu era.
What if they could zoom in?
Yes that is how light, lightyears, and years work
Lowest effort post in a while.
That’s assuming they are limited by what we consider to be the extreme limit of cosmic observation. If this supposed alien species has the capability to see us from 2,000 light years away to actually see the people living on Earth, they likely would have technology far greater than anything we could even imagine, and thus see us as we are right now, and not what we were based on the light that has reached them. A terrifying thought, especially if this civilization were anything like who we are now.
And nothing else because that’s the only thing that existed at the time right?
If they had enough resolution to make out the goings on on the surface of a planet 2000 light-years away.
wouldn’t they see a tiny, black dot as it passes in front of our star?
Jealous
Thats kinda mind blowing…theyd see people long dead . This also means the same for us
I guess if they were to fly to us, presumably at near light speed everything would be at 2x speed from their perspective
🧠💥
I mean, when the mediterrainian happens to face towards them and if they can zoom in enough and have a clear enouh picture.
Yeah dude that’s how light years work. If they were 5 lightyears away, they’d see me doing whatever the fuck I was doing 5 years ago, if they were 25 lightyears away they’d have the pleasure of watching 9/11 for the first time
This is the plot of Turtledoves Worldwar series
It’s not actually true because the earth is flat
Yes thats how time and space work.

If we found a planet 1,000 light-years away with a big mirror on it, we could see the Roman Empire for ourselves.
I mean, it would look really small / far away, but theoretically.
… and if they are intelligent, they will probably quickly put together a drop and send it at relativistic speed towards the sun to annihilate it and kill us in the process, before our technological arc put us on a path to become more advanced than them by the time we discover them
No wonder we don’t get visitors if the first thing they see is the colosseum in full swing.
Might as well put up a sign saying: Aliens don’t come (unless you want to be in a match with an oiled muscular guy who is armed)
Fake news. How would they look so close?
It’s not that simple, it depends the relative speed and directions of the civilizations in space.