Even though there are many stars in the sky, space is pitch dark. Stars emit large amounts of light. So the space is enlightened. Why is space not lit? We see starlight as white. Can be said differently, why is the space not white? If I say a little further, have you ever thought, what would happen if the space was white? Or in the white space infinite stars - or how it looked? Are black holes visible? Can we see stars in the white space?

Space is white

Before answering these questions, one thing needs to be clear. As far as we know physics yet, black is not really a color. Color refers to the different wavelengths or spectrum of visible light. Black matter absorbs all light in this spectrum. In short, the absence of light is essentially black. On the other hand, white is a mixture of all colors. All the wavelengths or light possible in visible light, all combined to form white. That is, we see this mixture as white.

So color is our very own sensibility. But if we go back to the background of the universe, everything is pure white. After the creation of the universe through the Big Bang, there were no stars to emit light. All around was an ocean of opaque hot protons, electrons and neutrons.

After about 300,000 years space cools down a bit. These basic particles combine with each other to form molecules. The universe gradually became transparent. But in your eyes, this transparency will be black. Because at that time no source was created to emit light. This period is called Dark Age. This epoch ends after the birth of the first stars in the process of forming helium from hydrogen.

These early stars were about 300 times more massive than the Sun and hundreds of thousands of times brighter. After millions of years of light and heat, the journey of these stars ends with a supernova explosion.

First, radiation is emitted from the ionized hydrogen atoms of these stars. That is, the hydrogen atom is again converted into protons and electrons. As a result the universe becomes illuminated. But where did the light go? Why is the night sky dark despite so many new stars, galaxies?

If the reason is oversimplified, then it has to be said: If the universe was filled with white light instead of black or darkness, then the age and size of the universe would be infinite. Then our familiar universe would no longer exist. Today's physics calculations could not match anything there. It is difficult for us to imagine such a universe.

At present the age of the universe is about 13.8 billion or 1 thousand 380 million years. It's a big time for us. But remember, the speed of light is also limited. So we only see stars about 1,380 million light years away. The light of more distant stars has not yet reached the earth.

The universe is constantly expanding. As a result distant stars are moving further away. When the star moves away, a special phenomenon called red shift or red shift occurs in the light coming from the star. As a result, the wavelength of light increases continuously and becomes red or violet light. Besides, if the wavelength is too long, it is no longer detected by our eyes. I see darkness.

Apart from this, there is another reason why the universe is dark. The universe is full of all kinds of radiation. But our eyes do not catch it. Since we cannot see all radiation, blackness or darkness is only real to us. But to a machine or creature that sees all radiation, the universe is illuminated. Maybe white or very colorful.

If we could see all the radiation, we might even see black holes. Because Hawking radiation is emitted from the black hole even if it is absorbed. There is no way to know exactly what a black hole with monstrous gravity would look like. You can imagine the shape of that strange universe if you want. On the canvas of imagination, you can create a replica of the white universe.