how many stars does a regular galaxy have?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by pluto2, Dec 31, 2008.

  1. zagacious Registered Member

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    our universe is around 14 billion years old

    with the use of cepheid variables being of stable brightness, these stars are used to determine their distance helping to understand the size and age of our vast universe, and the universe is believed to be around 14 billion years old.
     
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  3. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    Okay; 14 then

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  5. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    So they're claiming that the average expansion of the universe over its lifetime was more than 10 times the speed of light? How far off is that from mainstream expansion recession velocities?
     
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  7. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    And what do they say about the size of the universe?
     
  8. laladopi time for change. Registered Senior Member

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    their are many stars and space no one can even record for that long.
     
  9. zagacious Registered Member

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    size of the universe

    The edge of the universe I think is about 45 to 50 billion light years away, however there's matter beyond the observable universe. the total size I believe it's around 78 billion light years across. Please enlighten me if I'm wrong.
     
  10. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    I haven't kept up with the thinking lately. Originally they theorized that there was a period of Expansion when temperatures were so great that the common laws of physics were dismissed. The expansion happened during that time.A Catholic Priest started it all with his "Primevial Atom" that the link points to.

    It started out as a creationist theory; to me it still is just that.

    These folks think they have measured the size as 156 billion light years across.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2009
  11. zagacious Registered Member

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    The rate of expansion of the holds the key to the size and age of the universe, our universe at the moment is speeding up. The first half of it’s expansion history the universe was actually slowing down but then a mysterious anti gravity force made the universe speed up into the acceleration we see today. This strange anti gravity force is getting stronger all the time and could end up shredding everything in the universe, it’s known as the big rip theory, so where does a catholic priest and primeval atoms enter the equation?
     
  12. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    Abby Georges Lamitre wrote The Primeval Atom and that was the origin of the Big Bang Theory. The link is to the text of his hypothesis.
     
  13. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    The Big Rip Theory seems to stretch reality a little bit. I suspect it will all fall apart eventually. It seems much more realistic to guess that photons age in a certain way that would explain it all.
     
  14. zagacious Registered Member

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    Georges LemaÎtre - wasn't he the guy who suggested that religion and science should not conflict?
     
  15. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    Along with several million others.
     
  16. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    I searched the text that I linked to. The words religion nor science does not appear in the text. I have not heard of Lemaitre's take on separation of science and religion. He was a Catholic Priest from Belgium.
     
  17. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    Why would they?
    Let's try some arithmetic. He was a Catholic priest. He proposed what has become the founding principle of modern cosmology. It rather looks like he had no difficulty reconciling his religious faith with his scientific investigations.
     
  18. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    You are right; he didn't. My point was that being a faithful person he would be predisposed to produce a creationist theory.
     
  19. zagacious Registered Member

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  20. eburacum45 Valued Senior Member

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    If the edge of the universe is 45-50 billion light years away, the total size (if by which you mean diameter) must be at least 90 billion light years across.

    There is no known limit to the size of the universe outside the visible universe; by definition it is not visible, so cannot be estimated.
    See here
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe
    and
    46.5 billion light years radius is the current best estimate. But only for 'co-moving distance', which is only one of many very different distance measurements which are used.
     
  21. zagacious Registered Member

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    eburacum45

    yes you're quite right there are more precise mathematical calculations, however it is all a matter of conjecture as we are still in the early stages of cosmology. glad to see you're on the ball.
     
  22. Vern Registered Senior Member

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    Sometimes I try to; but then I don't know who's God would have done it.
     
  23. Cyperium I'm always me Valued Senior Member

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    How did they take that picture?
     

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