If there are boundaries to the universe, then would it also have a center?

Answer 1

Here is a question for you. If you were an ant walking over a beach ball, where would the center of the beach ball surface be? Not the center inside the beach ball, but the center of the surface?

There isn't one.

On the Earth, we define the prime meridian and the equator as the center of a number system, but that is an artificial construct.

Geometrically, the surface of the Earth or a beach ball is closed and unbounded. Closed means finite. Unbounded means it doesn't have edges. (A plate would be closed and bounded.)

The Universe is also closed and unbounded. It is curved in a fourth spatial dimension. If you picked any direction and traveled forever, you would come back to where you started from the other side.

You can define a center of the Universe, just as we define a point of origin on the Earth. But there's no reason why we can't pick any other place. It's just like orientation. We are acustomed to seeing north at the top of a map, but in Australia, maps are often drawn with Antarctica at the top. And in the old days, East was at the top, which is the origin of the word "orient," meaning to align. There is no logical center of the Universe like the Sun is the logical center to our solar system or the center of rotation is the logical center of our galaxy.

There is a really cool flash at the Exploratorium which demonstrates how every point is equally the center.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/hubble/tools/center.html

Now if you think of the physical center of the planet Earth vs. the center of the Earth's surface, then the Universe will also have a center, which is the location of the Big Bang. However, this is the center of a four-dimensional object of which the Universe we inhabit is the three dimensional surface. You could no more look at or reach that center than an ant can look at or reach the center of the Earth or of a beach ball.

Answer 2

The sun is the center of our solar system, not the universe.

Everyone knows where the center of the universe is, it's on CBS (Center of the Universe was a television series on CBS, which ran from October 27, 2004, until February 16, 2005. The sitcom was canceled after just 12 episodes.).

When astronomers look at distant galaxies to determine how fast they're moving, it looks like they're all moving away from us. Does that mean we're at the center of the universe? Well, no. It turns out that every point in the universe sees itself as the center!

The question of whether the universe has boundaries in time and space has captivated the imagination of mankind since early times. Some would say the universe had existed forever, while others would say that the universe was created and thus had a beginning in time and space. The second thesis immediately raises the question what exists beyond its temporal and spatial bounds. Could it be nothingness? But then, what is nothingness? The absence of matter, or the absence of space and time itself? The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) dealt intensively with this question. In his book Critique of Pure Reason he came to the conclusion that the question cannot be answered reliably within the limits of human knowledge, since thesis and antithesis are equally valid. Kant thought instead of time and space as fundamental aspects of human perception.

it appears that modern cosmology has answered the above question. The universe we can observe is finite. It has a beginning in space and time, before which the concept of space and time has no meaning, because spacetime itself is a property of the universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the universe began about twelve to fifteen billion years ago in a violent explosion. For an incomprehensibly small fraction of a second, the universe was an infinitely dense and infinitely hot fireball.

Answer 3

If there were boundaries to the universe, then it would have a center. However, there are no boundaries to the universe, so in fact it does not.

Answer 4

The universe is a finite entity and must have a maximum size.
At it's farthest reaches it is at it's minimum density and going out of existence.
The first space time pulse that launched the universe is probably pulsing,and as long as it does there will be a center,as it expands radially at the speed of light.
When the pulse stops the size of the universe in light years will be the length of time the universe will sustain.

Answer 5

The Big Bang theory involves an explosion of space, not an explosion in space (which was non-existent when it occurred).

Observations of astronomical bodies indicates, as far as we can see, that the expansion is uniform and homogenous, without apparent boundaries..

Until we haev the necessary instrumentation to determine if there are boundaries, our navels remain the best references for concepts like earthcentrism and anthropic principle.
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Answer 6

Yes that would be the Center of mass of expanding Universal formations with in a specified containment.

Answer 7

anything that has an end should have a center. where that's located in the hugeness of space, i dont know. and if there is a 'center' to our 3d universe, then its probably moving as the universe expands.

Answer 8

Yes, If X, then Y.

But ... there are no boundaries to the universe. And it does not have a center.

Answer 9

My simple answer to this question is if the universe does have a definate shape, then it has a center point to it.

Answer 10

there is no center