eli5: NASA has a telescope that can see the creation of stars and planets billions of years ago, how? Link is in description

Question

[Telescope](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/ke2p2r/nasa_is_about_to_launch_a_telescope_that_can/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)

In: Technology

Answer 1

Because the speed of light is finite, space radiation, including light, is in a sense, time travel. When you see a star that’s 5 million light years away, you’re seeing that star as it existed 5 million years ago, not as it exists right now. For all we know, that star may have supernovaed out of existence 4 million years ago and doesn’t exist now.