- #1
se00064
- 6
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Hi, my question just came to me the other day, and I can't appease myself as to the answer.
Basically, I am unsure as to how we know the universe is expanding right now at this present moment in time.
If our observations of the red shift are all from galaxies and stars that are extremely far away (~millions of light years) then the light has taken millions of years to reach Earth. Therefore we know nothing of what those stars are doing right NOW.
Similarly, we are told that objects are moving (the universe is expanding) quicker the further objects are from us, but mightn't this just be an illusion? The further an object is from us, the "older" the light we observe is, therefore, may we not just be looking at the light from a period when the universe was expanding quicker and seeing it now only because those objects are further from us in the first place?
Thanks in advance
Basically, I am unsure as to how we know the universe is expanding right now at this present moment in time.
If our observations of the red shift are all from galaxies and stars that are extremely far away (~millions of light years) then the light has taken millions of years to reach Earth. Therefore we know nothing of what those stars are doing right NOW.
Similarly, we are told that objects are moving (the universe is expanding) quicker the further objects are from us, but mightn't this just be an illusion? The further an object is from us, the "older" the light we observe is, therefore, may we not just be looking at the light from a period when the universe was expanding quicker and seeing it now only because those objects are further from us in the first place?
Thanks in advance