Monster Galaxy Cluster Found in Distant Universe (New)

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by new_here

 

Shouldn't the oldest light always meet up with darkness as it travels outwards in all direstions? (Please don't take this as argumentative-- I seek to understand, to 'wrap my brain around this!)

Nothing wrong with being argumentative, not in my book anyway.

"...Or rather, every place in the cosmos is its centre. You are the centre of the universe. So am I.

Thus, the earliest light in the universe is the light that is farthest away from you. And me. And everybody else.

If the above isn't clear, ask more questions. I'll do my best to answer, as well as I know how."

Thank you for your kind and informative reply! That makes sense now, IF the 'earliest light' from the Big Bang has ALWAYS been reaching us, and the scientist with their telescopes have just now recognized it for what it is. I think. I mean, if all has always been expanding outwards in all directions. Well, the following quote from the OP causes my brain to hiccup!

This light was emitted when ions and electrons first combined to form atoms just after the Big Bang, and has been traveling through the rest of the matter in the universe for the last 13.7 billion years or so to reach telescopes on Earth.

So did the light just reach the telescopes, or did the telescopes just advance enough to detect the light?
Thanking you in advance!

reply to post by new_here

So did the light just reach the telescopes, or did the telescopes just advance enough to detect the light?

It has always been there and will always be there.

Cosmic distances play funny tricks with time. You probably know that, travelling at the speed of light, it would take you about four years to reach our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri. If there are aliens watching Earth from Proxima Centauri, there not watching us in our here-and-now versions, they're watching what we did in 2006. And when we look at Proxima Centauri from Earth today, we're seeing it as it was in 2006, too.

The universe, we believe, is just under 14 billion years old. That puts a limit on how far we can see, not just in space, but in time, too. We can't see anything farther than 14 billion light-years away from us, because if there is anything out there, the light from it hasn't reached us yet.

This also means that when we do see something 14 billion light-years away, we're seeing it as it was 14 billion years ago. We are seeing the beginning of the universe as it happens.

If you want to learn more about this 'light of Creation' and how it was first discovered, read this.

reply to post by Astyanax


Wow.

Thank you. Greatly appreciated.

For some reason-that made the most sense to me.