How come we can see a source of light extremely far away when the source only illuminates the area much closer to it?

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For example, I’m sitting on my front porch which overlooks the town. Miles away I can see streetlights, signs, etc. How does the source project light to my location, yet doesn’t illuminate my location?

Holy moly friends, thanks for the awards and stuff. I didn’t think this question would spark so much interest, lol. I am thoroughly grateful for all your replies.

In: Physics

22 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Damn guys, so many answers so quickly! Thank you all for your explanations. Makes a bit more sense now. I haven’t really studied much physical science since high school and that was a while ago so pardon my ignorance on the subject. I just had the question occur to me while I was outside this evening, and Google wasn’t much help. You all were though!

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