Eli5 Why is said that the universe has no center or that any point in it is the center?
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The idea that the universe has no center, or that any point in it could be considered the center, is based on the concept of the homogeneity and isotropy of the universe. Homogeneity means that the universe looks the same, on average, regardless of where you are in it, while isotropy means that it looks the same in all directions. These principles suggest that there is no “special” or “preferred” location in the universe that could be considered its center.
To understand why this is the case, consider what would happen if the universe did have a center. In that case, there would be a location in the universe that was, in some sense, “more important” or “more special” than any other location. This would mean that there would be a preferred direction or orientation in the universe, with the center at one end and everything else radiating out from it.
However, observations of the universe do not support this idea. Instead, they show that the universe is relatively uniform, with no obvious center or preferred direction. For example, the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is the afterglow of the Big Bang, is isotropic, meaning that it has the same temperature and properties in all directions. This supports the idea that the universe has no center and is the same, on average, regardless of where you are in it.
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