Who can explain this to me....Question about the Big Bang, Light years and such

[Daxxax]

I just read on CNN that scientists have found a galaxy that is around 13.5 billion light years away.

Here is a LINK

What I don't understand is if the entire universe is suppose to be about 14 billion years old how are we seeing a object that is 13.5 billion light years away? Let me put it in differently. The light that was detected on this newly discovered galaxy has traveled for 13.5 billion years to reach earth, or in other words we are seeing this galaxy as it was 13.5 billion years ago. How did this galaxy get that far away from us in less then 1 billion years? According to the Big Bang we all came from one giant explosion. I understand how it can be that far away right now, but how are we seeing it as that far away right now? I know I'm missing something. Don't anyone mock me. I'm just trying to understand. Does it have something to do with light not traveling through time the same way we do?

Confused!!!

 

[damiano]

smoke a joint bubba

 

[Daxxax]

I might try that.

 

[sillymofo]

Well, the Big Bang theory is no doubt a more believable theory, but nontheless, a theory. Supposedly, there are simultaneous bangs, and we don't really know when the Big Bang happened.

EDIT: here's what I think happens, could it be that when the Big Bang happens, objects were moving FASTER than light? And their momentum has slow down since then?

 

[matt426malm]

Both moving apart, it took 13 billion years for the light to catch up to us? I'm not a physics major maybe it has something to do with inflation or who knows what.

 

[Kyteland]

Originally posted by: Daxxax
I just read on CNN that scientists have found a galaxy that is around 13.5 billion light years away.

Here is a LINK

What I don't understand is if the entire universe is suppose to be about 14 billion years old how are we seeing a object that is 13.5 billion light years away? Let me put it in differently. The light that was detected on this newly discovered galaxy has traveled for 13.5 billion years to reach earth, or in other words we are seeing this galaxy as it was 13.5 billion years ago. How did this galaxy get that far away from us in less then 1 billion years? According to the Big Bang we all came from one giant explosion. I understand how it can be that far away right now, but how are we seeing it as that far away right now? I know I'm missing something. Don't anyone mock me. I'm just trying to understand. Does it have something to do with light not traveling through time the same way we do?

Confused!!!

Just because the galaxy is now 13.5B light years away doesn't mean that it was that far away when it sent this light in our direction. It is concievable that the light we are seeing is only 9B years old, but in the time it took to reach us the other galaxy is now another 4.5B light years away.

 

[conjur]

The universe could be 15 billion years old...could be 25 billion. There could be galaxies 50 billion light-years away that we haven't found yet.

 

[ElFenix]

the universe could be donut shaped and everything just goes around in circles until it's absorbed

 

[Gyrene]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
the universe could be donut shaped and everything just goes around in circles until it's absorbed

Mmmm...doughnuts.

 

[Amorphus]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
the universe could be donut shaped and everything just goes around in circles until it's absorbed

IF YOU WERE A HOT DOG, WOULD YOU EAT YOURSELF?!

 

[DanTMWTMP]

my guess is that gravity moves light around....this is proven...there was light detected multiple times coming from different directions, but it was from the same star...chances are, that the light went in circles and circles until it finally reached earth's satellites.....

hehe i know i'm wrong...but oh well

 

[Triumph]

Like you said, it just means that we are seeing it as it was 13.5 billion years ago. That means that it traveled fast enough in ~0.5 billion years to give us this result.

Although I'm still wrestling in my head with the whole "age of the universe" thing. Time is relative, so does that mean it's only 14 billion years old for us?

 

[Ogg]

This is only 50 light years away

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Your question is what is confusing me.

First, the universe is ABOUT 14 billion years, but assume for this purpose that all times are correct.

How did you determine that it was created less than a billion years ago? Or are you saying something else?

Well, let me approach it this way.

Big Bang happens 14 billion years ago.

Half a billion years later, this galaxy was formed. Meanwhile the universe expands, removing it further from us.

The light we see today started it's trip 13.7 billion or so years ago.

If there is something else, maybe you could be more specific.

 

[Wuffsunie]

I'm not even going to delve into the heavy technical issues here. But the easy answer for you is this.

Assuming the big bang follows conventional explosive force in a vacuum, it'll blow in a spherical fashion. Assume that nothing within the universe moves faster than light, at least no piece of physical matter or energy that we know of yet. Take the age of the universe (no idea how that was found out, if it conflicts with what I say here I don't care) to be 14.5 billion years. Now, with the outer edges of the universe moving at the speed of light or close to, that gives it a radius from the point of origin of the explosion of 14.5 billion light years. Diameter wise, that's 29 billion light years across. Thus, it's easy for another galaxy to be 13.5 billion light years away and us to see it, as it's still within the 14.5 billion light year measure of space that light could have possibly propagated since the beginning of the universe.

Or at least that sounds like a kosher explanation to me.

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
EDIT: here's what I think happens, could it be that when the Big Bang happens, objects were moving FASTER than light? And their momentum has slow down since then?

The objects themselves don't move faster than light, cause nothing can, but the actual space between them is what is expanding.

 

[Ogg]

Originally posted by: Wuffsunie
I'm not even going to delve into the heavy technical issues here. But the easy answer for you is this.

Assuming the big bang follows conventional explosive force in a vacuum, it'll blow in a spherical fashion. Assume that nothing within the universe moves faster than light, at least no piece of physical matter or energy that we know of yet. Take the age of the universe (no idea how that was found out, if it conflicts with what I say here I don't care) to be 14.5 billion years. Now, with the outer edges of the universe moving at the speed of light or close to, that gives it a radius from the point of origin of the explosion of 14.5 billion light years. Diameter wise, that's 29 billion light years across. Thus, it's easy for another galaxy to be 13.5 billion light years away and us to see it, as it's still within the 14.5 billion light year measure of space that light could have possibly propagated since the beginning of the universe.

Or at least that sounds like a kosher explanation to me.

Ill give you an A-

 

[fredtam]

Let me try:

The light seen is in fact 13.5 billion years old. Galaxies/stars began to develop within the first 300 million years of the current universe. In less than a second the universe took shape and continued expanding from there. Objects near the edge will move at a faster rate than ones closer in. The light you are now seeing is from the very beginning of the "matter" universe. It would seem that if we were seeing light that was 13.5 billion years old that the galaxy would have aged another 13.5 billion years since but this light is from the very beginning of the galaxy itself. If i turn a flashlight on (lets say that was the beginning of the flashlight itself.) and allowed the light to travel to you 13.5 billion light years away when you finally see the light the flashlight is still only 13.5 billion years old.

As to the galaxy being that far away in such a little time the universe took shape in less than a second and was immediately filled with energy. Due to an imbalance between antimatter and matter the matter began to form within the first 300,000 years in the frorm of basic elements. Now that you gave matter you also have gravity. The matter particles began to clump forming big clouds of matter or early galaxies. Once there is enough hydrogen lumped together you start to get stars which in turn make other elements within the galaxy. This is happening in a region of space that is already a long way from our current region and continues to move farther away during the process.

 

[sillymofo]

Originally posted by: clamum

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo EDIT: here's what I think happens, could it be that when the Big Bang happens, objects were moving FASTER than light? And their momentum has slow down since then?

The objects themselves don't move faster than light, cause nothing can, but the actual space between them is what is expanding.

Well, we don't know that just yet. I mean, 100 yrs ago, we couldn't fly. When I say object, I meant matters be it physical or otherwise. As with the mere physics of an explosion, matters are expelled the fastest at detonation; with a force large enough to create the Big Bang, who's to say there weren't enough energy to move objects and matters FASTER than the speed of light?

 

[cjchaps]

If two objects are traveling away from each other at 1/2 light speed, what do they look like to each other?

 

[Rob9874]

Originally posted by: Amorphus

Originally posted by: ElFenix
the universe could be donut shaped and everything just goes around in circles until it's absorbed

IF YOU WERE A HOT DOG, WOULD YOU EAT YOURSELF?!

HA, Harry Carrey!! I loved that bit.

Hey NORM!

 

[Daxxax]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
Your question is what is confusing me.

First, the universe is ABOUT 14 billion years, but assume for this purpose that all times are correct.

How did you determine that it was created less than a billion years ago? Or are you saying something else?

Well, let me approach it this way.

Big Bang happens 14 billion years ago.

Half a billion years later, this galaxy was formed. Meanwhile the universe expands, removing it further from us.

The light we see today started it's trip 13.7 billion or so years ago.

If there is something else, maybe you could be more specific.

Thats the problem though. If this distant galaxy was formed in the first half billion years of the universe then at that time it could of only been a maximum of 1 billion light years away from us, Right?? How then are we seeing it at 13.5 billion lights years away right now. Are we moving away from this galaxy at just under light speed so it took this long for the light to catch up to us?? If we and this galaxy started from the same point and expanded away from each other at over half the speed of light how would we ever see the light coming from this galaxy to begin with? Would we not be traveleing away from each other faster then light could match? I like Wuffsunie's explanation but I'm still confused on how we are seeing 13.5 billion year old light from a galaxy that at the time the light was created was only maybe 2 or 3 billion lights years away from us.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo

Originally posted by: clamum

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo EDIT: here's what I think happens, could it be that when the Big Bang happens, objects were moving FASTER than light? And their momentum has slow down since then?

The objects themselves don't move faster than light, cause nothing can, but the actual space between them is what is expanding.

Well, we don't know that just yet. I mean, 100 yrs ago, we couldn't fly. When I say object, I meant matters be it physical or otherwise. As with the mere physics of an explosion, matters are expelled the fastest at detonation; with a force large enough to create the Big Bang, who's to say there weren't enough energy to move objects and matters FASTER than the speed of light?

Because to move an object faster than light requires MORE THAN INFINITE power.

 

[Rob9874]

If we see a star burn out, but realize that since its 1 billion light years away, it actually happened 1 billion years ago, is that like going back in time? Could we then (use your sci-fi brains here) make a spacecraft that travels faster than the speed of light, and go 2000 light years away in a few minutes, then use a highly powerful telescope to see Jesus on Earth?

 

[Daxxax]

Originally posted by: fredtam
Let me try:

The light seen is in fact 13.5 billion years old. Galaxies/stars began to develop within the first 300 million years of the current universe. In less than a second the universe took shape and continued expanding from there. Objects near the edge will move at a faster rate than ones closer in. The light you are now seeing is from the very beginning of the "matter" universe. It would seem that if we were seeing light that was 13.5 billion years old that the galaxy would have aged another 13.5 billion years since but this light is from the very beginning of the galaxy itself. If i turn a flashlight on (lets say that was the beginning of the flashlight itself.) and allowed the light to travel to you 13.5 billion light years away when you finally see the light the flashlight is still only 13.5 billion years old.

As to the galaxy being that far away in such a little time the universe took shape in less than a second and was immediately filled with energy. Due to an imbalance between antimatter and matter the matter began to form within the first 300,000 years in the frorm of basic elements. Now that you gave matter you also have gravity. The matter particles began to clump forming big clouds of matter or early galaxies. Once there is enough hydrogen lumped together you start to get stars which in turn make other elements within the galaxy. This is happening in a region of space that is already a long way from our current region and continues to move farther away during the process.

That helps, I think I should pick up a book. Anyone know of any good ones that describe things like this in layman's terms?