Astronomy/Universe expantion

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Expert: Jesse Martinez - 12/17/2009


Question
Understanding that the universe is 13 to 14 billion light years in size and expanding continually my question is; expanding into what? What is beyond our expanding universe and what does the most renowned theory suggest is past the limits of our universe? And does this "space" theoretically have a limit?

Answer
Greetings Mark.

Lets say our universe is about 13 to 15 billion years old and 13 to 15 billion light years in size and expanding. It is expanding into space. What is space? It is an infinite multidimensional concept of what nothing is. All the matter in the universe exists in this space. Where there is no matter, the space still exists. There is no theoretical limit to space. Where there is no matter, there is nothing. Space can be considered the same as nothing. The universe can continue to expand forever without running into a wall, or the end of space, it has no boundaries.

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation. If not, send me a follow up question.

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Jesse Martinez

Expertise

General and specific questions about the solar system and stellar and galactic astronomy, are what I can easily answer off the top of my head. For example, what is the largest planet in the solar system? How far away is the moon? Have there been any confirmed planets in orbit around stars other than the sun? How many stars are there? The tougher ones like explaining the big bang theory and black holes I will leave to the PhD’s. Even though I could muster an answer, I would have to research it more than I would like. I would also like to answer questions that involve Astronomy with other sciences, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and mathematics as long as they are not PhD level.

Experience

I have been into astronomy since I was 8 years old. I have kept detailed journals of my observations through small telescopes. Over the years I have participated in amateur observation projects for organizations like ALPO. My personal research has involved "discovering" the moons of Jupiter with a 4½-inch Newtonian reflector without any outside information like charts and tables. In a summer long project, I determined the existence of and plotted the orbits of the four major moons of Jupiter. From these observations, my data on orbital elements was surprisingly accurate (orbital radius and orbital period).

Education/Credentials
80 hours of college credits while studying physics and geophysics. Completed correspondence photography course while in high school. Took two semesters of electronics training at a community college. Studied computers and graduated from a technical school at the turn of the millennium, gaining A+ and Microsoft Certified Professional credentials. Hablo Español. Si quieres preguntar en Español, estoy a su servicio.

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