If the Universe is about 13.7 billion years old, and the diameter of the observable universe is 93 billion light years, how can it be that wide if the universe isn’t even old enough to let light travel that far that quickly?

Question

If the Universe is about 13.7 billion years old, and the diameter of the observable universe is 93 billion light years, how can it be that wide if the universe isn’t even old enough to let light travel that far that quickly?

In: 5624

Answer 1

Even though matter and energy can’t move *through* space faster than light speed, space itself can expand arbitrarily fast. Two galaxies on opposite ends of our observable universe are moving away from each other much, much faster than the speed of light. Blew my mind when I learned about it