Assuming outer space is finite, what's beyond the edge of outer space? Isn't outer space already nothing?
396914
Outer space is not nothing. Even without the presence of matter, it is teeming with quantum foam, particle-antiparticle pairs, space, and time. For all we know, spacetime may not exist outside our universe."\nAlso, the universe may not be bounded. The only way to "exit" may be to find a "fourth direction". Ie., think of a point in an unbounded plane. The only way for the point to exit its universe is to somehow find the "third direction".
686202
Universe theories talk about a finite and unlimited Universe. The Universe is unlimited because it has no boundaries. There is no edge, no end where a spaceship would have to stop. See it as a tiny bug walking on the surface of a big balloon. The ballon has a finite dimension, but the bug will never find the end, so it is unlimited from the bug's point of view.\nSo, the Universe can be expanding or contracting or staying the same size. This is a very important question to answer in modern astronomy. Latest studies say that it is expanding, but it has not been totally proved.\nAnd where it is expanding? The Universe is creating more space and time where there is nothing.
909543
If the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light years away and it's the only galaxy on Earth to be seen by the naked eye, it leaves us to wonder how far it really is.\n\nPersonally, I googled it. I couldn't find a thing relating to the blank nothingness further than the universe.\nI only looked a little bit, but there are very few educational guesses on the Internet.\n\nMaybe you should try. Googling that is. Maybe it's you who'll find the right words to search it in.  \nThe words stumped me so the was probably my problem.\n\nGood luck on finding the answer!\n-Marissa
214423
The universe has no end, just as the surface of a sphere has no end. In terms of the surface you can't describe its end, only in terms of a higher dimensional geometry. In that sense, "beyond" is meaningless since it is a term to relate to the same dimension as the universe. It's like "beyond the end of the world" for the surface of Earth -  there is no end, and at some time you might return to where you started from.
612672
well unfortunately, outerspace is a whole lot of nothing, so it doesnt have to take up any space.  granted there are molecules floating around out there, but for the most part there isnt any matter in empty outer space
52550
I believe the universe is a 'closed' shape, meaning that there is no 'edge', however it does have a finite size.  But just to entertain your question, if we one day did reach the End of the Universe we literally would be unable to describe anything on the otherside.  Everything we know about physics, space time, the fundamental forces, the universal constants and so on only exist in this universe.  Anything 'outside' of the universe could potentially then have different laws of physics and thus would be completely beyond our comprehension.  Words would literally fail.  For more fun reading, checkout the link in the sources.
674188
well, spacetime does not seem to end, and nothing is "holding up" spacetime.\n\nthe universe is not infinite. the universe is finite yet has no edge and no center. it may be something like the two dimensional surface of a sphere. nothing inside or outside the sphere exists for the two dimensional surface.\n\nalso, i have something for you to think about. the radius of observable universe is about 46 billion lightyears, yet the universe is 13.7 billion years old.
995272
Science nor anyone else can answer your question! As far as science can determine, our universe (space) is not contained within any 'thing' else. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they're just blowin' smoke.
429062
spacetime is finite yet has no boundary. it may be something like the two dimensional surface of sphere. the surface of a sphere has a finite amount of space but has no edge so some immortal, two dimensional being living on the two dimensional universe could travel forever in one direction, never turning left or right, and repeatedly pass the same place. remember, tho, the sphere is three dimensional, and anything inside or outside the sphere does not exist for this immortal, two dimensional being. nothing exists outside the universe in this model. not even space and time exist outside the universe.
1140209
the spacetime is finite yet has no edge and no center.  it may be something like the two dimensional surface of a sphere.  anything inside or outside the sphere exists for the surface.  nothing exists outside spacetime in this model.  the universe did not begin in empty spacetime.  spacetime began with the universe.\n\nhttp://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni.html\nhttp://universeadventure.org/\nhttp://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0009F0CA-C523-1213-852383414B7F0147
412853
First off you have a real good question.  As a matter of fact I used to think like this during my high school years.  \n\nInfinity in cosmology\nAn intriguing question is whether actual infinity exists in our physical universe: Are there infinitely many stars? Does the universe have infinite volume? Does space "go on forever"? This is an important open question of cosmology. Note that the question of being infinite is logically separate from the question of having boundaries. The two-dimensional surface of the Earth, for example, is finite, yet has no edge. By walking/sailing/driving straight long enough, you'll return to the exact spot you started from. The universe, at least in principle, might have a similar topology; if you fly your space ship straight ahead long enough, perhaps you would eventually revisit your starting point.\n\nIf the universe is indeed ever expanding as science suggests then you could never get back to your starting point even on an infinite time scale.
360950
Let me ask you, what would it be like of you were at the end of the Earth? Would it be like a cliff that you could jump off? That is silly because the Earth is round. It has a finite surface area but no edge. The edge is the surface you are standing on. Every place on Earth is the edge. It is believed that in a similar way the 3D universe is curved in the 4th dimension, so that it has a finite volume but no edge. Or you could say you are at the edge all the time but don't know it since you cannot perceive the 4th dimension.
1022327
The place we call 'space' is very much 'infinite'? To understand it can't be done. Logically and or by dictionary terms it means boundless, endless or very great. Their are many ways to describe the word infinite because the word holds a question of uncertainty. So people try to answer the best they can because really, deep down we don't know the true answer. And all things not labled, catargorized or can easily be explained is scary and is alien to us. The unkown is a scary place for most. Whats after infinite? How can something possibly go on and on with no end. I was once told "Their are new things that are being discovered every day because we as humans where meant to discover them, but then there are things that are so big and boundless that are mind can't even comprehend and thats because the answer lies with god and we will never know. You will drive your self crazy trying to understand the true concept of infinite. But remember this, the most intelligent scientists in the world can only answer your question with a text book answer with a scientific veiw point and still not answer your question completly.\n\nTo answer your second question. God can't be explained you have to discover him for your self and only then will you be able to discribe him. He is so unique that one word can't possibly sum him up. You would need the worlds dictionarys and pick out all the best words that are good and then create another million before you even get close. The true answer to your question lies with you in your heart. Good luck and god bless.
660305
space doesn't really have limits that we'll ever reach, but yeah there are MANY others planets and solar systems in our galaxy, let alon the other 51351351354 (to the 80 trillionth power) galaxies. it's infinite.
36543
As I understand it, the universe is in fact finite.  However, it's expansion is continuous and progresses at such a rate that we can not, with current technology, move beyond to see the end.
1094356
It means that we can measure the size of the universe, but if you tried to approach an "edge" of the universe, all you would do would be to extend it. Wherever you go, the universe goes with you, so it is unbounded. You cannot go "outside" the universe.
784741
The universe may be infinite in size, or it may be of only finite size. Doesn't the universe have to be infinite? It doesn't make any sense that it would be finite, then there would be some end or edge, and what would be beyond that?\n\nStrange as it may seem, the universe could be finite, a finite universe would not have to have any edges or an end, it could 'wraparound'. The universe could be curved. Huh? How could you curve the universe?\n\nAn analogy should help, consider the surface of the Earth. It looks flat and many children and ancient people might assume that it is flat and that it is either infinite or must have an end or edge somewhere.\n\nBut the Earth's surface is curved, it wraps around and closes in on itself. There is only a finite amount of area yet there is no ends or edges. The two-dimensional flat surface of the Earth is wrapped around into a sphere when viewed in three dimensions. If you set out flying westward in a plane, you will wraparound and eventually return to where you started, approaching from the east.\n\nThe universe may be a curved three-dimensional space that wraps around and closes on itself. If you set out in a spacecraft heading one direction, you could eventually return to the same spot from the opposite direction.\n\n \n\nA nice demonstration of the scale of the universe is to start with a view showing our galaxy and then zoom by a factor of ten once per second. Such a demonstration is done at http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/ \n\nClick on this link and view the demo. Use your browser's Back button to return to this page after watching the demo.\n\n\nThe entire universe, or just the visible portion of the universe if its infinite, is roughly 27 billion light-years across. That's 159,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles. Our solar system, from the Sun to Pluto, is .00063 light-years across or 3,720,000,000 miles. That makes our solar system 42,700,000,000,000 times smaller than the whole universe.\n\nCan we put that into a more meaningful perspective? If the entire Earth's surface represents the whole universe, the solar system on that scale would be one-millionth of a meter wide, about 1/25,000 of an inch, the size of a single, small bacteria.