Universe Expansion: What Am I Missing?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on the concept of the expanding universe, emphasizing that it is an established scientific fact supported by three main pillars: galactic redshift, cosmic microwave background radiation, and supernova observations. Participants express skepticism about the reasons behind this expansion, questioning whether it could be influenced by massive objects warping space or if the expansion has ceased. However, the consensus is that current evidence, including the role of dark energy, strongly supports ongoing expansion rather than contraction.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of galactic redshift and the Doppler Effect
  • Familiarity with cosmic microwave background radiation
  • Knowledge of supernovae and their role in measuring cosmic distances
  • Basic concepts of dark energy and its implications for cosmic expansion
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the implications of dark energy on the universe's expansion
  • Study Edwin Hubble's contributions to cosmology and the significance of redshift
  • Explore the cosmic microwave background and its role in understanding the early universe
  • Investigate alternative theories to the Big Bang, such as the Infinite Universe Theory
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrophysics students, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of the universe and the evidence supporting its expansion.

  • #31
Drakkith said:
We MIGHT not be right? Are you kidding me? We KNOW we might not be right. That is one of the mainstays of science! It's built into the scientific method! That's why you will never hear a decent scientist say that they know something is 100% true, no matter what. Thats why you have things like the announcement of the finding of a new particle that looks like the Higgs at a confidence level of 5 sigma, or about 99.99994%

At least someone is being honest here. There is nothing wrong with taking consideration of other models which explains our observations, but one has to assume the standard model is correct or at least the most plausible for lots of reasons as in one of them is that it explains lots of our observations and undoubtedly shows it.
 
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  • #32
So, how does the contracting universe hypothesis explain the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect?
 

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