another xword puzzle question: "proportional to cosmic distance" (8 letters)?

Answer 1

I think that what is wanted is:

Redshift - the "stretching out " of observed wavelengths of light as the emitting galaxies recede from us. The further away we look, and the greater the redshift, non-linearities enter. But it isn't clear that crossword inventors or compilers would know that.

However, strictly speaking, the crossword question also ignores our local group of galaxies. (Our sister galaxy Andromeda, or M31, is galloping towards us.) Also ignored are random motions within groups, clusters, or superclusters of galaxies, or "peculiar velocities" of individual galaxies with respect to the "local universal frame" out where they are. The redshift is only simply proportional to distance then, for some idealized average galaxy (i) far enough out from our own local group, (ii) with deviations from "cosmic flow" negligible, and (iii) not sufficiently distant that other non-linearities enter because of the particular geometry and history of the expanding universe. (But O.K., crossword compilers aren't setting an exam for astronomy students, they're only trying to give a clue for laypeople.)

Note that parallax is INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL to distance; what's more, because of that, it's only relevant to the very nearest astronomical objects, stars within the Sun's own vicinity.

Live long and prosper.

P.S. The responder below makes a good point. However, with respect I would suggest that the answer required needs to have at least some demonstrable connection to the word "cosmic" in "cosmic distance." "Velocity," as it stands, doesn't have such a connection. "Redshift" does; and, of course, the "Velocities" in Hubble's Law are only deduced FROM the observed REDSHIFTS of galaxies. (Hubble first noticed a correlation between TWO of his observables, which were NEITHER velocity nor distance. They were the REDSHIFTS and MAGNITUDES of galaxies: as the observed apparent brightnesses of his selected galaxies decreased, their redshifts increased. A vestigial acknowledgment of this survives in occasional references to the "Redshift - Magnitude Relationship." The interpretation in terms of velocity, distance, and the idea of the latter being tied to an expanding universe all builds upon interpretation of these primary observables.)

But in the end, if this question comes from an actual crossword puzzle, the words filled in perpendicularly should help to settle it.

Answer 2

i would say parallax is not the answer as it is not very technical. and as far as redshift is concerned, it is shift which is propotional.

My answer is velocity which is explained in Hubble's law.. THe farther the galaxy is the faster it moves away from us..

VELOCITY .. try it out and tell me..

Answer 3

parallax