The Universe

[Raisa]

Does anyone know anything about the universe?

We are in our solar system, in our galaxy, and what is our galaxy in?

I think I once saw a picture of alot of galaxies (including our's) on a very big thing that is kind of spiraling into a center. And there were so many other galaxies, that the person who showed me the picture pointed to this little star and said " we are here" and we were sort of on the edge of the spiral.
I know everyones probably looking at me with a big question mark on their face so I was hoping someone who knew about these things could share with me and then we can theorize.

[GoaRedStar]

our galaxy is in the universe

[Zingu]

Solar systems are held in orbit by larger entities like stars, Solar systems make up galaxies, recent research suggests at the center of every galaxy, there is a black hole, suggesting that the gravitational pull of a black hole is so great that it can hold billions of stars together in the form of a galaxy.

Again, Raisa, read the book "Hyperspace", it'll talk more about the entropy death of the universe, how we are all doomed.

[Pawn Power]

Originally posted by [email protected] 4 2005, 07:00 PM
our galaxy is in the universe
You wish, Astronomers estimate that there are about 125 billion galaxies in the universe.
Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003.

The galaxy we are in is called the Milky Way

[rahul]

DONT YOU KNOW THE bIgBaNgThEoRyOfUnIvErSe?

one should read stephen hawking and his works to know more about these facts!

this is an amazing topic!
http://www.wxan.net/images/bk%20hawking.jpg
http://www.pridemobility.com/pridewebtalk/Stephen_Hawking/Hawking-on-roof-8-01.jpg

[Djehuti]

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/space/0104/hubble.images/expanding.universe.jpg

http://holtz.org/Library/Natural%20Science/Astronomy/Cosmology/Big%20Bang%20by%20Haubold.jpg


This is the universe...its real large, larger then we can possibly imagine, and it is getting larger. Eventually it might shrink into a little ball again. In this universe, there is millions of galaxies, such as ours:


http://www.vt-2004.org/Background/Infol2/vt2004-if-g5-fig2.jpg

Our galaxy, Milky Way is a spiral kind of galaxy, and as you said our sun system is somewhere at the edge of this galaxy. I think you have confused universe with galaxy and galaxy with sunsystem.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Galaxies are not scattered randomly about the universe, they form part of a larger structure - our galaxy is part of what is called the Local Group, which includes the large and small magellanic clouds, the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, and the Andromeda Galaxy and associated satellites.
The Local Group is just a part what is called the Virgo Supercluster (So called because the centre of the cluster appears to be in the constellation Virgo) within which the furthest galaxies can be seen, also some astronomers dispute this as they reckon the furthest galaxies are actually part of another supercluster.
The Virgo Supercluster, and it's neighbouring superclusters, are theorised to form part of an immense spongelike conglomeration of superclusters, with vast bubbles of empty space billions and billions of lightyears across. It is believed the entire universe is structered like this. Of course we can't observe this 'universal sponge' because the speed of light is limited, meaning that the deeper we look into space, the further back in time we look as well. This is how we can observe ancient phenomenon such as quasars and Seyfert Galaxies.

[Pawn Power]

one should read stephen hawking and his works to know more about these facts!

I started started reading one of hawking's books on time but is was boring, maybe a was too younge at the time.

[Dyst]

Stephen Hawking is a good author. For those who cares; he shares my view on sacred geometry.

[ComradeChris]

I bought this interesting book, "Universe in Your Pocket." It claims:

The Milky Way
Our own galaxy is a spiral galaxy that revolves around a point known as galactic central. The latter is probably home to a huge black hole a million times heavier than the Sun -- Not that anyone can know for certain, since the massive gravity field inside a black hole means that not even light can escape.
The 'hub' of the Milky Way is a bulge consisting of hundreds of millions of stars. Our Solar System sits near the edge of one of the thin arms that spiral outward from the hub. This arm is called the Orion Arm, because it contains the bright stars from the constellation Orion.

There are 5 different types of Galaxies:
- Spiral Galaxies (obviously ours)
- Elliptical " "
- Irregular " "
- Radiogalaxies " "
- Quasars

I don't know if that helps or not.

[FriedFrog]

If the Universe is everything, but is continually growing, what is it growing into?

[Don't Change Your Name]

Originally posted by NoMan,[email protected] 6 2005, 06:20 PM
If the Universe is everything, but is continually growing, what is it growing into?
Into nothing. The new "parts" seem to be "created" as it expands. Or something like that.


Our own galaxy is a spiral galaxy that revolves around a point known as galactic central. The latter is probably home to a huge black hole a million times heavier than the Sun

Whoa...I didn't know that.

Black holes are scary

[ComradeChris]

Originally posted by El Infiltr(A)[email protected] 6 2005, 06:44 PM

Our own galaxy is a spiral galaxy that revolves around a point known as galactic central. The latter is probably home to a huge black hole a million times heavier than the Sun

Whoa...I didn't know that.

Black holes are scary
Scary but fascinating. Charting the unknown is exhilarating.

[Zingu]

Originally posted by NoMan,[email protected] 6 2005, 06:20 PM
If the Universe is everything, but is continually growing, what is it growing into?
Some scientists don't think the universe will shrink again; some think it will just keep expanding! If this happens, everything will eventually drift so far apart of from everything else that the universe will become a cold, dark and desolate place.

[FriedFrog]

Some scientists don't think the universe will shrink again; some think it will just keep expanding! If this happens, everything will eventually drift so far apart of from everything else that the universe will become a cold, dark and desolate place.

I've heard of something like this before. Some people believe the Universe is continually expanding and shrinking, ie being born and dying in EXACTLY the same way every time, so that in reality, all of what is happening has already happened, possibly millions or billions of times, with the same effects every time.

It seems weird to think I might have already been here, but not REALLY me.

Apologies if you don't understand that. Not sure how good my ability of explaining is.

[Raisa]

I thank everyone so much! *wipes a tear* , because I felt so stupid asking my question and you gave me such good answers! This subject is very interesting to me.

So at the middle of all this there is said to be a black hole.
And I heard it is all slowly going into the black hole. After that happens then what?
Matter cant be destroyed, just broken into smaller parts of matter. Does anyone know or have any theories about what happens to things after they go into a black hole?

[ComradeChris]

Originally posted by [email protected] 7 2005, 11:44 PM
hiSo at the middle of all this there is said to be a black hole.
And I heard it is all slowly going into the black hole. After that happens then what?
Matter cant be destroyed, just broken into smaller parts of matter. Does anyone know or have any theories about what happens to things after they go into a black hole?
I think that can only be tested through experimentation. There's really no way of examining it from a distance as light can't even escape.

Well, one theory I find interesting is the wormhole theory. That space is in "invisible layers" and the heavier an object the greater "dent" they leave on these layers. Some people think a black hole was a large star that exploded and actually tears a hole in this fabric. since the layers are so compressed before they were torn, it is believed that you can travel great distances by going through that hole. This may be better explained with a diagram...I wish I had one.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

So at the middle of all this there is said to be a black hole.
And I heard it is all slowly going into the black hole. After that happens then what?

A star will not fall into a black hole unless something causes it to lose momentum when orbiting the galaxy's centre. This is because when the galaxy is first formed a vast collection of gas at the centre condenses into the most violent known phenomenon in the universe - a quasar. Millions of star's worth of gas gets compressed into a supermassive black hole that sucks in matter for lightyears around it, depriving the local area of star making material. The gas produces a massive amount of electromagnetic radiation as it is pulled into the black hole.When all the gas has been used up, all the remaining stars in the galaxy orbit around the now-dormant quasar just as planets do around stars. the quasar may be re-awakened later on by collision with another galaxy with gas and dust.
As the galaxy gets older, the most massive stars go out with a bang, a supernova, disturbing gas and dust for up a hundred lightyears around it - causing the material to congregate into more stars. The medium and small-sized stars puff out gas as they die, adding to a scheme of cosmic recycling before becoming neutron stars, white dwarfs and pulsars.
Eventually, as the star-building material gets locked up in black holes, white dwarfs and other star relics, the galaxy becomes fainter as the massive, short-lived stars wink out and only the long-lived red dwarfs remain. Eventually, these too will fade away, leaving a dead, dark and desolate galaxy filled with nothing but black holes, black dwarfs (White dwarfs that have cooled down) and the occasional cold, dead planet that survived its star's death.