Name: 飛行機から星が見えないのには単純な理由がある (We Don't See Stars from a Plane for a Simple Reason)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T09:50:22.000Z
Duration: 8 min 42 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

If you’re on an overnight flight, you might have been looking forward to a gorgeous, clear

That’s the whole reason you booked that window seat, right?

But when night falls, you look out your window, and…no stars!

They’re obviously still there…so what’s going on here??

Well there are a few reasons and I’ve got’em!

The Lighting in your cabin Obviously, the yellowish-whitish light in

your cabin isn’t natural light, and there are rows and rows of these lights from the

Plus, other passengers may be watching an in-flight movie.

In other words, it’s brighter inside the plane than it is outside.

No matter how dim the lights might get as they’re turned down around bedtime, there

are enough of them to make it difficult to see the stars – which, keep in mind, are

Light Pollution Similarly, when you’re flying over a huge

city like New York, London, or Tokyo, the stars still have to compete with all of those

It might seem crazy to think that man-made lights will block out the light of millions

of stars, but the stars are much further away than those glowing city lights below!

Skyglow A lot of light pollution, like the kind you’ll

get flying over a big city, can cause skyglow.

Even if you aren’t flying directly over it, you can still see a big city to the left

Of course, even a big city will seem small from a plane, but there can be a huge glowing

atmosphere around and above the city from all the lights.

That’s what skyglow is, and it’s bright enough to block out even the light of the

The Moon and its Light Even if it’s a clear night and you’re

above the clouds, the moon may be shining so brightly that its light will block out

The moon still blocks the light of some stars when you’re stargazing from Earth.

Even if you can’t see the stars from your plane, take the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful,

Proximity to the Stars It might feel like you’re much closer to

the stars while up in your airplane, but in terms of miles and light-years, you aren’t

After our moon and the sun, the star that’s next closest to the earth is called Proxima

Centauri, and it’s 4.24 light-years away.

When thinking in terms of numbers that big, if your plane is only somewhere around 35,000

feet off the ground, you’re not that much closer to the stars than you are from Earth

Atmospheric Turbulence Simply put, atmospheric turbulence is irregular

air currents that are mixed around by the wind.

Besides making your flight bumpy, this turbulence also stirs the air, which can move gasses,

This keeps these substances from settling in one air pocket, and keeps the atmosphere

healthy; but my point is that turbulence may bring in clouds, even on a clear night, which

Pay attention to see if it’s windy; if so, this may cause turbulence and bring the clouds

Yeah stick your head of the airplane to see if it’s windy…ha..never mind.

Your Retinas The retina is the part of your eye that processes

If you have any pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, or have had any head trauma,

your retinas may not work properly, and you may not be able to see the stars.

Even healthy retinas need normal oxygen levels in the blood to work properly.

Although the cabin will maintain pretty normal oxygen levels at a high altitude, any of these

pre-existing conditions, or less than perfect retinas, may affect your ability to see the

We Don’t Have Night Vision Well, at least not right away.

There are other parts of your eyes besides your retinas that help you see in the dark,

It takes us 10-20 minutes for our eyes to acclimate to the dark.

So if you’re trying to see the stars from your plane and can’t, don’t give up too

If you’ve eliminated the light sources inside the cabin, whether by using your blanket or

getting the cabin lights turned off, keep stargazing for at least 20 minutes.

You have to give your eyes time to adjust!

Your Windows The windows of an airplane are oddly shaped

and on the small side, only reaching from about shoulder to elbow; not ideal for stargazing.

The cramped nature of the seats makes it difficult to look out your window from multiple angles

You’d have to do a lot of neck-twisting!

Airplane windows also have three layers of protection against the outside, so you stay

Any one of these panes may be scratched up or cloudy due to age.

The shape and condition of your window may affect the quality of your view of the skies.

It might be hard to get these near-perfect conditions.

You can’t be flying over any big cities that may cause light pollution or skyglow,

It could be difficult to get all of these elements to line up at the same time!

Most of these conditions are out of your control, like all the natural elements outside.

But if the right circumstances fall into place, your chance to stargaze above the clouds just

So what CAN you do to increase your chances of seeing the stars from your flight?