If the universe is 13.8 billion years old, how is the observable universe 46.5 billion light years across?

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If the universe is 13.8 billion years old, how is the observable universe 46.5 billion light years across?

In: Physics

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space.
*Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy*

Anonymous 0 Comments

Light years is a measure of distance and not a measure of time. Hopefully I’m writing enough to warrant a post

Anonymous 0 Comments

I heard it explained nicely by a loaf of bread rising with raisins in it. The raisins aren’t moving that much compared to the swelling dough between them. Maybe that analogy helps? Otherwise u/WRSaunders is right. Space is itself expanding faster than light can cover the distance.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The Universe is expanding, it’s been expanding for billions of years at about this rate. Across the visible Universe, the edges are expanding at a speed greater than the speed of light.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Lightyear is a measurement of distance. It’s how long light can travel in one year. One light year is 5.879 × 10^12 miles. It’s an estimate of how large the universe is, not how old it is.