Everything else in the universe spins, planets, stars, galaxies etc
2006-06-29 08:33:45 · 20 answers · asked by Glenn M 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Galaxies, planets, stars and some moons only spin under gravity and gravitational influence. If the universe is spinning it would require a massive gravational core or gravity core. If so then we will be swallowed by such a force that we wouldn't be here now.
In the looks of galaxies, they are being thrown away from the centre of the universe by a force rather than a spin. So if everything is pulling away then if there is a spin there would be gravity and we wouldn't be going outwards we would be going inwards. Nothing else could cause such a force for a spin but gravity and that's impossible and anything else would not function to physics.
2006-07-01 05:17:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
When a star explodes, does the matter ejected keep spinning as the star did? I can't answer that question, but I would think not. If the widely accepted Big Bang theory is correct, I would suspect that it would be analogous to a stellar explosion with no spin.
Also, if the universe were spinning, wouldn't all of the matter present do the same thing it does in individual galaxies? (which is plain out into a disk) If you observe the Hubble Deep Field pictures, you will notice that galaxies are all on different plains. From our vantage point, some galaxies are face on and some edge on. If the entire universe were spinning, I would think we would view all of the galaxies edge on and on roughly the same plain.
2006-06-29 16:28:13 · answer #2 · answered by habaceeba 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For something to spin there has to be something for it to spin against. Spinning (or any movement, for that matter) is relative to other objects.
So nomatter how the universe was moving it would be holding still because there's nothing outside the universe to compare it to. There's also no gravity, no concept of up, down, left, right north, south, no direction.
So if the universe was spinning it actually wouldn't be.
That doesn't make much sense
Oh well, it made sense in my mind.
2006-06-29 15:49:09 · answer #3 · answered by Z, unnecessary letter 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi Glenn M
Clearing up some misconceptions for you:
It *is* possible to tell whether or not the universe is spinning from within it, you don't need an external perspective, or something for it to spin relative to (as suggested above). The reason for this is that rotation is not an inertial motion, which means it is possible to distinguish it from being at rest (ie not rotating).
The cosmic microwave background is a sea of photons left over from the big bang. It permeates all of space. Two recent experiments (WMAP and COBE) have mapped this sea and its tiny fluctuations to a nigh degree of precision. The results of these experiements allow us to constrain any possible rotation of the universe to a high degree - if the universe was rotating the effects of non-inertial motion would show up in variations in the microwave background.
Hope this helps!
The Chicken
2006-06-29 18:41:08 · answer #4 · answered by Magic Chicken 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't know, but this is a very good question. It seems that everything else in the Universe spins to why not the Universe itself.
2006-07-06 10:08:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They would know because of the positions of the stars in relation to Earth's position in Space. We've come a long way in Astrophysics in the last century, but then again, never say never...
The Universe is apparently oval, viz. from the Kobe Microwave map and Einstein's theory of it being finite. If it was a spherical oval then it could spin around a central point... the mind boggles.
2006-06-29 21:08:38 · answer #6 · answered by hasina_ghani 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because we have nothing to compare it to. We cannot see outside of our own universe (indeed, we cannot see past the background radiation that was produced shortly after the creation of the universe) thus we can't tell if the universe has a spin to it.
Although there are new theories on how to measure this phenomenmon: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2526
2006-06-29 15:40:01 · answer #7 · answered by michelsa0276 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probably the same way they figured out that the earth spins without throwing us all off into space screaming.
= loads of what if questions....
= masses of social ineptitude...
= occassional comical facial expressions denoting the onslaught of a bright idea.
2006-07-06 09:13:53 · answer #8 · answered by bonobo73 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one can really tell. As far as we know, the universe has no limit, therefore . . . what would be spinning?
2006-06-29 15:35:49 · answer #9 · answered by Royal Weirdo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drink a half bottle of JD - lie down. EVERYTHING spins - even scientists.
2006-06-29 15:43:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋