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re: Is there an end or edge to intergalactic space?

Posted on 11/21/17 at 9:39 pm to
Posted by KosmoCramer
Member since Dec 2007
80761 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 9:39 pm to
quote:

Here's a question for anyone who knows: Why is the observable universe limited to that circle? Is it because the universe may be a sphere so we can only see to the horizon? Or maybe something to do with the amount of time it takes light to get here? Or something else altogether?




Wiki

quote:

The observable universe is a spherical region of the Universe comprising all matter that can be observed from Earth at the present time, because electromagnetic radiation from these objects have had time to reach Earth since the beginning of the cosmological expansion. There are at least 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe,[7][8] containing more stars than all the grains of sand on planet Earth.[9][10][11] Assuming the Universe is isotropic, the distance to the edge of the observable universe is roughly the same in every direction. That is, the observable universe is a spherical volume (a ball) centered on the observer. Every location in the Universe has its own observable universe, which may or may not overlap with the one centered on Earth.

The word observable used in this sense does not refer to the capability of modern technology to detect light or other information from an object, or whether there is anything to be detected. It refers to the physical limit created by the speed of light itself. Because no signals can travel faster than light, any object further away from us than light could travel in the age of the universe simply cannot be detected, as they have not reached us yet.




LINK

It's mind blowing that it's based on the speed of light that hasn't reached us yet. Wow.
Posted by KosmoCramer
Member since Dec 2007
80761 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 9:41 pm to
Also, the chances of Earth being the center of the universe is very slim.
Posted by Methuselah
On da Riva
Member since Jan 2005
23350 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 9:55 pm to
Ok. That makes sense. Light from stuff beyond the observable universe just hasn't had time to get here yet.

I guess that means that every day we can see a tiny bit more of the universe than we could see the day before as more light has arrived.
Posted by KosmoCramer
Member since Dec 2007
80761 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 9:58 pm to
Relatively speaking, it's a huge area every moment since it's moving at the speed of light.

But it's also a very small amount compared to the visable universe. Again, it's all relative.
Posted by deeprig9
Unincorporated Ozora
Member since Sep 2012
76139 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 10:25 pm to
quote:

I guess that means that every day we can see a tiny bit more of the universe than we could see the day before as more light has arrived.



But more light has also gone away. So we don't actually see more, in a sense of quantity, we continue to see the same, but different.
Posted by Jor Jor The Dinosaur
Chicago, IL
Member since Nov 2014
7581 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 10:26 pm to
quote:

I guess that means that every day we can see a tiny bit more of the universe than we could see the day before as more light has arrived


I don’t think so. I believe the universe is theoretically expanding faster than the speed of light so the observable universe is actually getting smaller. It’s been a while since I’ve done any reading on the subject so that might be outdated
Posted by Kentucker
Rabbit Hash, KY
Member since Apr 2013
20055 posts
Posted on 11/21/17 at 11:29 pm to
quote:

I guess that means that every day we can see a tiny bit more of the universe than we could see the day before as more light has arrived.


No, it's the opposite. The more distant from our galaxy another galaxy is, the faster it's moving away from us. There is a light boundary where other galaxies are moving at the speed of light or faster. Their light will never reach us.

It's not that the galaxies themselves are moving faster than light. Rather it's the expansion of space between galaxies, which is not restricted by the light speed limit for matter.

There will come a time when residents of our galaxy will see very few other galaxies as more and more pass beyond the light boundary. The Universe, which all current evidence indicates is flat, will become darker and darker as the concentration of galaxies becomes diluted by greater distances between them.
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