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

If you had a magical telescope large enough to resolve that much detail, then yes, you would be seeing 500 years in the past. In other words, you’d be seeing Earth in 1524.