• Question: Do we what the universe is exspanding into?

    Asked by joe_da_fish to Anna, George, Jodi, Rob, Stefan on 12 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Stefan Lines

      Stefan Lines answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      No idea, although hopefully nothing – otherwise something is getting very squashed.

    • Photo: Jodi Schneider

      Jodi Schneider answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      We don’t know what “shape” the universe is taking. It could be flat, curving back in on itself to eventually close, or infinitely expanding in multiple directions in once (what would that look like? see here: http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/hyperbolic_space.php )

    • Photo: Rob Appleyard

      Rob Appleyard answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      I don’t think that’s a question that makes sense. The Universe is everything that exists, and just because it is expanding doesn’t mean that it is expanding into anything.

    • Photo: Anna Scaife

      Anna Scaife answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      Hey Joe – the Universe is expanding into itself! This is a really difficult one to get your head around.

      When we say “the Universe” that encompasses absolutely everything, so there’s nothing else to expand into. It’s maybe easier to think of the Universe as stretching rather than expanding. Everything is in the same place relative to everything else, but the space between things is getting bigger.

Comments