• Question: Is the universe really infinate?

    Asked by Anna :D to Stefan, Anna on 12 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Stefan Lines

      Stefan Lines answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      There is no definitive answer on this, but based on our understanding of cosmology – with the universe thought to be ‘flat’ – it is. The universe is expanding, fast, and nothing can travel faster than it’s expansion, so it would appear to be infinite!

    • Photo: Anna Scaife

      Anna Scaife answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      Hey Anna – as Stefan says, most cosmologists today think the the Universe is flat and infinite. But there is still a small possibility that the Universe is “closed” and space-time curves back in on itself. This means that if you followed two parallel lines far enough then they would join up. In a flat Universe they would stay parallel forever.

      If the Universe is closed then it’s possible that far in the future the Universe could collapse back in on itself and end in an event called the “Big Crunch” 🙂

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