the.com/distant stars
light you're seeing arrived before you were born, from a place that may no longer exist.
means stars so far away their light takes years to centuries to reach earth, so you're watching ancient history, not the present.
from astronomers use lightyears because miles get absurd fast; the phrase itself is just physics dressed up as poetry, the gap between where light left and where it lands.
nearest oneproxima centauri, 4.2 lightyears, still ancient news
some are deadthe star burned out, its light kept going
naked eye limitabout 2.5 million lightyears, andromeda galaxy
speed excuselight itself is the fastest thing, still too slow