eli5:with billions of stars emitting photons why is the night sky not bright?

Question

eli5:with billions of stars emitting photons why is the night sky not bright?

In: 471

Answer 1

Because space is big. Bigger than you can possibly imagine. Yes even bigger than whatever you’re imagining now. There are all those stars emitting light but the space between them is so vast and empty that the light is dispersed.

All those stars in the universe emitting light are light a hundred people with flashlights spread across a football field at night. You will be able to see each flashlight in the dark but it will not illuminate the field as if it’s daytime.