“28 billion lightyears away.” Confusing. If the universe is fourteen thousand million years old, then the star that is twenty eight thousand million years away must be on the opposite side of the universe from the earth. Cool photos in the article. Thank you.
I’m confused as well. I was just about to ask how a star could be 28 billion light years away when the universe is supposed to be 15 billion years old. Even in your supposition that we are at opposite ends of the universe, how can the light distance be more than 15 billion years?
Very confusing. I get it that Einstein's speed of light only limits how fast things with mass can move thru space, but it doesn't limit how fast space itself can expand, thereby carrying objects having mass along with it for the ride. But it still gives me a headache!
“If the universe is fourteen thousand million years old, then the star that is twenty eight thousand million years away must be on the opposite side of the universe from the earth.”
—
“Why the Light Travel Time Distance should not be used in Press Releases “
https://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/Dltt_is_Dumb.html
“If the universe is only 14 billion years old, how can it be 92 billion light years wide?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIJTwYOZrGU
The simplest expanding universe to understand is a spherical balloon that is being inflated.
In theory, all points on the balloon are moving away from each other at the same rate of speed. The larger the balloon gets, the faster the dots are moving away from each other.
Locally, several dozen galaxies might remain close because of their mutual pull of gravity.
But, at some point in an expanding universe, every galaxy will eventually drift away from all of its gravitational companions.
There are two other theoretical shapes for our universe.
First, like a megaphone, where the Big Bang takes place where your mouth is and expands forward, infinitely, in a thin, but wider and wider, circle.
Second shape, like a horse saddle, which is a design I do not understand at all.
There does seem to be a broad based astronomical consensus that the universe is flat (or thin, like the thickness of a balloon), but since we can see thousands of light years away, in every direction, just with our eyes, that idea also does not make sense to me.
Possibly because it’s ever-expanding.