If I looked at the earth through a telescope from 500 light years away, would I be able to observe life on earth in 1524?

Question

Imagine I have a telescope with strong enough zoom to observe the earth like google maps street view, if I looked at the earth very closely from 500 light years away, would I see 1524 happening in real time? Or time as it is now?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

You’d see what’s happening 500 years in the past. Unfortunately it will take more than 500 years to get there, so your best shot at seeing the earth from 500 years ago is aliens sharing the photos they took of us.