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When we look through a telescope at distant galaxies what happens to them the further away we look?
But we have observed galaxies so far away that we are seeing them as they were when the light left them more than 10 billion years ago. By observing more distant objects, we look further back toward a time when both galaxies and the universe were young (Figure 1).
Why looking at galaxies further away from us is like looking back in time?
Whenever we observe a distant planet, star or galaxy, we are seeing it as it was hours, centuries or even millennia ago. This is because light travels at a finite speed (the speed of light) and given the large distances in the Universe, we do not see objects as they are now, but as they were when the light was emitted.
What is the farthest back in time that we can see into the universe?
Scientists have estimated the age of the Universe to be 13.73 billion years old (with an uncertainty of about 120 million years). When we observe an object that is 13 billion light years away, we are essentially observing it as it was 13 billion years ago, when the Universe was young.
When we say that the universe is expanding we mean that?
When scientists talk about the expanding universe, they mean that it has been growing ever since its beginning with the Big Bang. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else.
Why do virtually all the galaxies in the universe appear to be moving away from our own galaxy?
Why do virtually all the galaxies in the universe appear to be moving away from our own? Because expansion causes all galaxies to move away from nearly all others.
What method would astronomers use to find the distance to a galaxy so far away that individual stars are impossible to make out?
Astronomers estimate the distance of nearby objects in space by using a method called stellar parallax, or trigonometric parallax. Simply put, they measure a star’s apparent movement against the background of more distant stars as Earth revolves around the sun.
How far is Earth in light-years?
A light-year is the distance a beam of light travels in a single Earth year, or 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).
What does the universe expand into?
The universe is everything, so it isn’t expanding into anything. It’s just expanding. All of the galaxies in the universe are moving away from each other, and every region of space is being stretched, but there’s no center they’re expanding from and no outer edge to expand into anything else.
How far back in time can we see the universe?
Therefore, the longer we wait, the farther we can see, as light travels in a straight line at the speed of light. So after 13.8 billion years, you’d expect to be able to see back almost 13.8 billion light years, subtracting only how long it took stars and galaxies to form after the Big Bang.
Is the universe expanding or shrinking?
Stuff is everywhere, light goes at c, stars and galaxies move, and the Universe is expanding. This last layer is the counterintuitive one that most people have the hardest time with. Yes, space is full of matter, which quickly clumps into stars, galaxies and even larger structures.
How big is the universe?
The universe encompasses everything in existence, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy; since forming some 13.7 billion years ago in the Big Bang, it has been expanding and may be infinite in its scope.
How far away are the objects in the universe?
Perhaps the objects now could be as far as 27.6 billion light years away, assuming their light just reaches us now and they speed away from us at almost the speed of light. The different possible fates of the Universe, with our actual, accelerating fate shown at the right. (NASA & ESA) 3.)