|
|
Q:
Has the center of the known universe been located and, if
so, where is it?
A:
This is a tough concept, and I think the true answer
is that we don't know. Many astrophysicists would say that space is
expanding something like a balloon expands - meaning that if you live
on the surface of a balloon and it is getting blown up, you can run
around on the surface and see that there is no center, only an
expanding surface which looks the same from wherever you stand. So it
may be that there is no center to our universe. NASA has a web site in
which various astrophysicists have given answers to this question (or
different versions of this question, like "where is the edge of the
universe?") here:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/cosmology.html
But I think we don't know enough yet about our own universe to know if
there is a center or not. A physicist has a web page on
cosmology that is useful (but also tough unless you know some
physics) and he does talk about whether there is a center of the
universe or not, and whether we are in the center - he doesn't give any
answers though! But if you'd like to take a look, here it is:
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/John_Gribbin/cosmo.htm
Back |
Index | Next
|
