Why Can't We Just Send Messages Across the Universe?

Imagine you're using a walkie-talkie to talk to your friend on the other side of the playground. Now imagine your friend is on another planet, even the fastest message would take years to reach them! That’s what happens with interstellar communication. We send messages like radio waves, which travel at the speed of light, but space is so vast that it still takes a really long time for those messages to arrive.

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  1. Sending a message to Mars is like sending a letter across the playground, it takes minutes.

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