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With infinite stars, why is the night sky dark?

With infinite stars, why is the night sky dark?

Ellsworth Toohey
Aug 26, 2025
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Boing Boing
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With infinite stars, why is the night sky dark?
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The center of Milky Way galaxy (sripfoto/shutterstock.com)

Why is the night sky dark? This simple question, known as Olbers' paradox, has perplexed astronomers for centuries. In an infinite, eternal universe filled with stars, every line of sight should end on a star, bathing the night in constant light. Yet we see darkness punctuated by points of brilli…

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