Q & A: Cosmology

		Cosmology (def.): The study of the origin and evolution of the universe as a whole.

Q: What does it mean when you say that we're seeing light from many years ago?

Q: Could we possibly "see" something that did not originate from "our" universe?

Q: We know light bends. How far does light have to travel to bend?

Q: If there is a black hole in the center of our Universe, wouldn't the Sun get sucked in to the black hole?

Q: Where did the endless void come from?

Q: What is the hot subject/topic in particle physics these days?

Q: Is there really an increase of cosmic dust entering our solar system?

Q: Is it possible that a supernova or star birth shock waves could be one of the reasons the Earth has periodic major loss of life?

Q: How do photons lose their energy to the universe as they cross it?

Q: How long would it take something to travel 1 light year or 30 million light years?

Q: How does one reconcile the age of the Universe with extremely distant objects?

Q: How is it possible for light that was emitted 1 billion light years from us to take 11 billion years to reach us? Also, why are there no dust clouds in between the galaxies?

Q: Has the center of the known universe been located and, if so, where is it?

Q: How can you tell what the quasar was made of so that you could extrapolate the information regarding the gas cloud. I would assume you were not able to observe it unobscured by the cloud?

Q: Is there going to be a new estimate of the average density of the IGM now? I think it is a lot denser than current theory allows?

Q: My question regards the presence of oxygen in the gas. Where did it come from? It seems that the gas is primordial and, therefore, should only contain hydrogen and trace amounts of helium?

Q: How long would it take for scientists to notice the effects of the NGC 6240 merger in our galaxy and/or in other galaxies?

Q: I have heard the term "cosmic string" and am not sure I understand the definition. Is it left over matter?

Q: Reports on NASA's site estimate telescopes like the HST can see about 10 billion light years and the latest speed of the expansion of the universe is about 300 kps. For the universe to be 10 billion light years + in diameter it would take 10 trillion years to be that size at that speed. Am I misunderstanding something?

Q: How can I find the absolute diameter and distance away of an object?

Q: The thought of an expanding universe is fascinating. With that in mind, can "time" or the passage of time in our reality, speed up or go by faster?

Q: I just watched a program on space which quoted that for every grain of sand on the Earth there are a million stars in space. Is this true, and if so, how do we know this?

Q: Can there be a parallel existence?

Q: I need to find out what objects are in space further than 131,700,000,000 light years.

Q: I read that "the light from some of the quasars Chandra will observe has been traveling through space for over 14 billion years." Is there something here that will relay us information from beyond at a rate faster than the speed of light?

Q: Instead of saying "...when the universe was half its' size", wouldn't it be more accurate to say "...at a time in the very distant past..." or some such?

Q: Is the universe expanding at about 65 miles per second?

Q: What are Multiple Universes?

Q: It is my understanding that Hubble Space Telescope measured the universe to be about 15 billion years old. In your opinion is this correct?

Q: I would like to know if all these new galaxies spotted with Chandra are going to affect the previous calculations of the total mass contained in the universe, and also if this is going to help to estimate a most accurate date for the Big Bang.

Q: Where on the web can I find a picture of the structure of the universe?