The observable universe. Does it mean the edge of space where nothing else is? Is it where the universe is currently at in its expansion after the big bang? Or is it just a barrier that our telescopes are yet to look beyond, and there are just more galaxies past it?
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What is meant by the observable universe is the university we can currently see based on the current speed of light, and how the light has travelled accordingly to get to us.
What we are seeing now, is relative to however far we are away from us. For example a planet we can see now 7 billion light years away, is actually the image of it 7 billion years later. For all we know, in 7 billion years time it has been engulfed by a star and that star has since gone into supernova.
If you are a planet 14.8 billion years away, on the edge of our observable universe, you will have been moving for 14.8 billion years at whatever pace you were going. This is why we say the observable universe, as we appreciate that the universe is only as we see it in an observation.
If the light catches up with us, we could possibly see more things in our universe – for example a new star could magically be born from complete darkness.
Their could be stuff that is going at the speed of light, not emitting any light, and would therefore be invisible. But who knows really.
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