Could we be seeing dead stars? (Beginner)

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If stars are thousands of light years away from us, isn't it possible that before the light reaches us the star explodes, but we still continue to see it for next thousand (or respective) years?

Absolutely.

This page was last updated on June 27, 2015.

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About the Author

Dave Kornreich

Dave was the founder of Ask an Astronomer. He got his PhD from Cornell in 2001 and is now an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Physical Science at Humboldt State University in California. There he runs his own version of Ask the Astronomer. He also helps us out with the odd cosmology question.