Where are we?

[AllanJ]

Where is the Earth in relationship to where the Big Bang occurred?
If at the point of the event is as with all explosions and matter expands in all directions where is the void in relationship to where we are now? If the event occurred approx. 10 to 15 billion years ago are we able to see any evidence from the other side of the void?

Regards
Allan Inquieti
[email protected]

[dundurn]

Once upon
a time in another
galaxy a long, long way
from here, God said "Let there
be light, and there was light, and many
years later we launched the Hubble Space
telescope, and now if we can only get it working
again we might have a better answer to your question!

I believe the Solar System is headed towards Sagittarius but that's purely a local diversion. As to where you should look for the centre of the universe, I haven't a clue. I think it's safe to say NASA won't be getting there any time soon, nor will the Chinese. There are quite a few (sort of) English language discussions around the structure of the Universe in Wikipedia. Having read a few I'm no clearer on whether what we see is real and is where it appears to be, or whether it's all a giant optical illusion. Bottom line appears to be that apples still fall according to Newton and all other considerations can be left to the theoreticians.

[Teddio]

Every point in the Universe can claim to be at the centre of the Universe. There is no centre just like there is no edge. To use an analogy: where on the surface of a snooker ball is the beginning?

[jake-the-peg]

You are undder a common misapprehension.

The big bang was not an explosion into an already existing but empty universe.

The universe iself, physical space and time started with the big bang.

Matter is not flying out like fragments from an explosion. Space is expanding taking everything with it.

A common analogy is raisens in a loaf of bread in the oven, as the dough (space) expands the raisans ( matter is carried with it) to each raisen it looks like all the others are flying away from it.

In one sense the big bang happened everywhere even at the chair in which you are currantly (sorry bad pun) sitting