Q&A: General Astronomy and Space Science

Q:
What is going on out there? Are we perhaps living at the speed of light? Is motion of exploding stars visible by the Chandra telescope? All photos of celestial objects I have seen depict objects as stationary.

A:
It sometimes seems we are living at the speed of light, so that time goes slowly, but sometimes it feels like life is going by at the speed of light! Most of the objects are so far away that Chandra cannot see them move, but by making images over a period of several years, we may be able to detect motion in some objects that are less than a few thousand light years away.