How Big Our Universe Really Is
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31 March 2024
Since the Big Bang, the universe has been continuously expanding. The rate of this expansion holds the potential to challenge our understanding of physics, questioning the accuracy of our existing knowledge
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When we observe in any direction, the most distant visible parts of the universe are approximated to be approximately 46 billion light-years distant
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That equates to a diameter of 540 sextillion (or 54 followed by 22 zeros) miles
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However, this is essentially our most educated estimate—precisely how vast the Universe truly is remains unknown
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This limitation arises because our vision extends only as far as the distance light has covered since the inception of the universe
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Since the universe emerged approximately 13.8 billion years ago, it has continuously expanded outward
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However, astronomers have attempted to utilise a parameter called the Hubble Constant to aid in this endeavour
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The Hubble Constant sets the scale of the universe, both its size and its age, BBC reported. It helps to think about the Universe like a balloon being blown up
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Scientists now believe they are close to an answer, thanks to the Hubble Constant. Today's estimates put it at somewhere between 67 and 74km/s/Mpc (42-46 miles/s/Mpc)
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Part of the problem is that the Hubble Constant can be different depending on how you measure it
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