Astronomy

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Ask Ethan: How did the Universe truly begin? (bigthink.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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If you said "with the Big Bang," congratulations: that was our best answer as of ~1979. Here's what we've learned in all the time since.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

The universe is expanding faster than the speed of light. So what exists between us and distant objects is the future distance between us and distant objects.

Imagine chasing a balloon floating north on a long airport treadmill pulling you south. It's faster than you could ever hope to run, so the distance between you and the balloon will only ever grow.

This is a sort of analogous metaphor for what would happen if you tried to go to distant objects.