Answer to Question #16945 in Astronomy | Astrophysics for roaa

Question

distant stars are luminous or non luminous source does they have their own light or not?

Answer 1

Luminous bodies are those that radiate light – they have their own light. For example, the sun, stars and fire are luminous bodies. Light from the sun takes approximately eight minutes to reach the earth's surface.
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Non-luminous bodies are those that do not radiate their own light and they become visible only when they reflect another source of light into our eyes. It means that they don’t have their own light. For example, the moon and the planets are non-luminous bodies.

Answer: Luminous source has its own light and non-luminous source doesn’t have its own light.