02-27-2026, 09:40 AM
I think the hardest part to conceive, sometimes, is the the expansion of the universe isn't linear. There isn't a border out there expanding away from us in the traditional sense.
Every point in space between us and the edge of the observable universe is expanding. Because of that, the universe can expand faster than the speed of light as taken from our frame of reference.
We often picture the expansion of the universe like the inflation of a balloon, but it is more complicated than that.
The expansion of the universe isn't intuitive. A poor analogy would be a galaxy being motionless compared to our galaxy, but because the space between our galaxies (and between every point in the universe, technically) is expanding, it appears that the galaxy is moving away from us, even though, from its point of reference, it is motionless and we are moving away. What is really happening is that neither galaxy is moving but the distance between them is increasing because "new" expanded space is being created between them.
The space between the galaxies is getting larger, even though neither galaxy is moving THROUGH space. Because the galaxy isn't moving, the limit of the speed of light doesn't come into play. The movement from our point of reference is an illusion from the creation of expanded space between the galaxies.
Every point in space between us and the edge of the observable universe is expanding. Because of that, the universe can expand faster than the speed of light as taken from our frame of reference.
We often picture the expansion of the universe like the inflation of a balloon, but it is more complicated than that.
The expansion of the universe isn't intuitive. A poor analogy would be a galaxy being motionless compared to our galaxy, but because the space between our galaxies (and between every point in the universe, technically) is expanding, it appears that the galaxy is moving away from us, even though, from its point of reference, it is motionless and we are moving away. What is really happening is that neither galaxy is moving but the distance between them is increasing because "new" expanded space is being created between them.
The space between the galaxies is getting larger, even though neither galaxy is moving THROUGH space. Because the galaxy isn't moving, the limit of the speed of light doesn't come into play. The movement from our point of reference is an illusion from the creation of expanded space between the galaxies.
