I'm trying to fully understand the effects of time when travelling near the speed of light...

 

Now, if people on a ship were travelling at 99% (roughly) the speed of light, I hear it will take about 80 years to reach the edge of our galaxy.

 

My question is; is it 80 years for us on earth, or 80 years for the people on-board the ship?

My question is; is it 80 years for us on earth, or 80 years for the people on-board the ship?

As measured by the people on-board the ship.

The Milky Way is bigger than that!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

we're about 20,000 light-years from the disk's edge.

 

At 0.99*c, the contraction is 0.14, or 2,800 years for the travellers. 20,000 years observed from Earth.

check this out,

 

http://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/

 

taking the tour explains how to navigate the site.

The Milky Way is bigger than that!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

we're about 20,000 light-years from the disk's edge.

 

At 0.99*c, the contraction is 0.14, or 2,800 years for the travellers. 20,000 years observed from Earth.

ok, i didn't actually do the maths... I was using an approximation from a documentary i watched. i guess they mean something more like 0.999*c

 

anyway, i got the answer i was looking for =]

 

check this out,

 

http://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/

 

taking the tour explains how to navigate the site.

ah, i've seen this when it was first released. awesome project