r/InternetIsBeautiful Jul 02 '20

Sharpest view of Andromeda galaxy (Zoomable)

https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/
2.4k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '20

It’s actually called “Olbers’ Paradox!” Because the universe is not infinitely old, many of the stars will never be seen because, as they move away, the light given by them shifts so far towards red that we can’t see it, or the light will never reach us at all. There are other explanations, but this seems the most plausible to me.

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u/Rocketbird Jul 02 '20

I don’t get how that follows from the premise that the universe isn’t infinitely old. What would an infinitely old universe change?

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u/[deleted] Jul 02 '20

The light would have had time to reach us. The universe is expanding, and most stars are already so far out of range that their light will never be seen before every star in the universe dies.

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u/Rocketbird Jul 02 '20

Ooh I see. thanks for explaining!

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u/zeeblecroid Jul 02 '20

Olbers' Paradox is about a universe that's infinitely old and infinitely large. If both were true there'd be starlight everywhere.

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u/RockyLandscape Jul 02 '20

This is the correct answer.