And for that matter, how many light years is the universe itself (the diameter)? Is the center of the universe roughly where the Big Bang occured 14 billion years ago?
2006-09-05 07:00:15 · 10 answers · asked by Michael F 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The "size" of the universe is roughly 14.5 billion light years in diameter. But here's the fun part -- there is no "center." Since space is expanding (and has been ever since the Big Bang), it's going equally in every direction, meaning it has no "center" (keep in mind it's not the stuff IN the universe that's expanding, but the space they're in itself).
We say the size is roughly 14.5 billion light years because that's as far away as anything can possibly be given the age of the universe. There's no center just as there's no edge, because outside of expanding space is nothing at all (not empty space, NOTHING).
I know, hard concepts to wrap your head around...but if you think about it and study a bit you'll get it :)
2006-09-05 07:12:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no "center of the universe". Unfortunately, things aren't always so cut and dry.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, the universe has no center, and it has no boundary. The idea of a Big Bang acting like a giant fireworks explosion hurtling matter and energy outward is pervasive but misleading. As bizarre as it sounds, it wasn't "stuff" that exploded outward, it was space itself! In essence, the Big Bang happened everywhere. Since the time of Einstein it has been known that space is not simply a backdrop in which we move, but an actual thing that can be measured. It has shape, it can be bent, and it can expand.
If this sounds nonsensical, think of the surface of a balloon expanding into three-dimensional space. A two-dimensional creature confined to the surface of the balloon could never find the center, because the center is located in 3-D space, and not in the 2-D space in which the creature lives. We are 3-D creatures stuck in a universe with at least four dimensions, so we cannot see the center of our universe. In fact, there's no reason why there has to even be a center anywhere.
The same reasoning holds true for the "edge" of the universe. Where is the edge of a balloon? To define an edge (or a center), you need to assume that there is something into which the universe expands. As I just explained above, that need not be true, and even if it is, we can never detect this "metaverse."
When thinking about cosmology, always remember the words of British biologist J. B. S. Haldane: "The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose."
2006-09-05 07:07:26 · answer #2 · answered by Leigh 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the Sun is around 23,000 light years from the center, the universe is between 70,000 and 100,000 light years across, and the big bang occured outside our galaxy, there are around 200 billion galaxies in the universe
opps i read that wrong, i thought you siad the galaxy, sorry, but from what I read the Universe extends from the Earth at least 10 billion light years in every direction. (thats 5,865,696,000,000,000,000,000 miles) Theroretically, you could say the Big Bang is the center, because everything shot out form there, and it's still moving, eventually it will reach apogee and start to fall back in to where the Big Bang happened.
2006-09-05 09:02:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am the center of the universe. Since I live on Earth, then the Earth too can be said to be at the center of the universe.
2006-09-05 07:41:49 · answer #4 · answered by Sheik Yerbouti 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The center of the Universe is always where you are.
Unless we have an idea of where the Big Bang started.
2006-09-05 07:05:43 · answer #5 · answered by NaughtyBoy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read a book. The position of the center of the universe as well as its limits have not yet been determined.
2006-09-05 07:05:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Earth is the centre of the universe - just like any other point in the universe you might choose as your point of view. About the size of the universe, the scientists still disagree, but many recent researchers tend to say it is simply endless.
2006-09-05 07:08:48 · answer #7 · answered by juexue 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
no one knows the answers to those questions. you have to know how long the universe is before you can find the center.
2006-09-05 07:05:51 · answer #8 · answered by Mitch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How far are you from the center of intelligence? You say intelligence can't be measured that way? Neither can infinity.
2006-09-05 07:07:29 · answer #9 · answered by beast 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they could measure the size of the universe....that would be a milestone.
2006-09-05 07:04:29 · answer #10 · answered by julean33 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋