How Old is the Starlight You See in Your Telescope?

When you buy a star, understand that this star has many amazing features, and learning more about them will enhance your stargazing experience. Astronomy is a seemingly endless source of new learning.

Did you know the light you see from the stars in your stargazing experience isn’t generated in the here and now? What you see from the stars in the sky is actually light which has traveled distances measured in the trillions of miles—it’s quite old by the time it becomes visible to telescopes or the naked eye.

One of the most distant objects humans can observe is 13 billion light-years away from the Earth; it’s the light known as a gamma ray burst, which came from a star explosion thought to have happened 600 million years ago.

Unfortunately, the average telescope won’t be able to see that particular event, but the notion that such ancient observations are available somewhere is tantalizing to many new astronomers. What discoveries will you make when you're searching for the star listed on your star certificate?