Submitted by Head-Plankton-7799 t3_yf2f97 in explainlikeimfive
blow_up_the_outside t1_iu1d8lh wrote
Simply because the universe, to the best of our knowledge, has no center.
We cannot say for sure but if our physics is right, the universe is very likely unbound and infinite. There is no edge and no end.
Then there is the thing we call the observable universe. It is what it sounds like, the universe we can observe.
Because light takes time to reach us, we are looking back in time the further away we are looking in space.
We can look so far back, the universe was a opaque gas cloud everywhere, and very little light from that time escaped that gas. Eventually we hit a theoretical stop, the birth of the universe, and we cannot look further back than that.
Where that edge is lies our cosmic horizon.
So our observable universe has a size, and that is 13.8 billion light years (the age of the universe) + the expansion of space, so 46.5 billion light years in every direction from here.
Actually, not here, but from wherever you are observing.
You are in the most present you can be, which also means you are in the most center position you can observe the universe, which means you are always in the center of the observable universe.
You are literally the center of the universe and with science to back it up.
But unfortunately that is not so special, since that is true for everyone and every point that exists.
But for the whole infinite universe, if it is truly infinite, there is no center.
KnitYourOwnSpaceship t1_iu5pqof wrote
> Where that edge is lies our cosmic horizon.
> So our observable universe has a size, and that is 13.8 billion light years (the age of the universe) in every direction from here.
Nitpick: because the universe is expanding, the size of the observable universe is 93 billion light-years, not 13.8
blow_up_the_outside t1_iu68d27 wrote
Not just a nitpick but a qualified correction! I have updated my reply
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments