Suppose you had a clear, moonless night. How many stars could you see with the eye alone?
There’s really no definitive answer to this question. No one has counted all the stars in the night sky, and astronomers use different numbers as theoretical estimates.
Considering all the stars visible in all directions around Earth, the upper end on the estimates seems to be about 10,000 visible stars. Other estimates place the number of stars visible to the eye alone – surrounding the entire Earth – at more like 5,000. At any given time, half of Earth is in daylight. So only half the estimated number – say, between 5,000 and 2,500 stars – would be visible from Earth’s night side.
Plus, another fraction of those visible stars would be lost in the haze all around your horizon.
Templo S.U.D. over 6 years ago
Well, one star I think you wouldn’t wish upon is the sun. Overall, not bad of a panel.
Jogger2 over 6 years ago
There are billions and billions of stars in the galaxy, and billions and billions of galaxies in the universe.
alondra over 6 years ago
Wow! Something you don’t have to stand in line and wait for. I’ll take one.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 6 years ago
Suppose you had a clear, moonless night. How many stars could you see with the eye alone?
There’s really no definitive answer to this question. No one has counted all the stars in the night sky, and astronomers use different numbers as theoretical estimates.
Considering all the stars visible in all directions around Earth, the upper end on the estimates seems to be about 10,000 visible stars. Other estimates place the number of stars visible to the eye alone – surrounding the entire Earth – at more like 5,000. At any given time, half of Earth is in daylight. So only half the estimated number – say, between 5,000 and 2,500 stars – would be visible from Earth’s night side.
Plus, another fraction of those visible stars would be lost in the haze all around your horizon.