is the universe expanding or is it getting smaller?
467061
the proponents of the big bang theory say that it is still expanding. in fact studies have shown that it indeed is expanding. i am not aware of the exact figures bu the interplanetary distances are increasing by the minute. if that were to be so then all galaxies are also moving away from each other (its proven) . therefore it could be safely said that the universe is expanding.
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.
1140999
The universe is infinite and is expanding; there is no middle.
270562
This has been asked maybe 137 times but instead of researching, please, keep asking.  The latest research shows that it is expanding faster than ever.  So it will probably keep going.  There is no 'edge' to the galaxy and nobody understands why.  I personally think it has a finite size but it is expanding at the speed of light.
465735
The Universe is Expanding because it has been observed that the galaxies within the Universe are moving away from us at tremendouse speeds. The Doppler Effect explains the red shift observed through hundreds of telescopes which confirms the fact that the galaxies are moving away from us. If the Universe were not expanding, then the Galaxies would not be all moving away from us, but moving with us. The more perplexing question is if the Universe is expanding, then it is expanding into what?
5808
Nobody really knows for sure.\n\nThere's a theory that the universe is expanding in a spherical shape and will continue to expand until it reaches maximum entropy. At that point all of the energy and matter in the universe will be equally distributed and the universe will no longer be able to support life.\n\nThere's another theory that the universe will expand (again, roughly in the shape of a sphere) until all of the galaxies exhaust their kinetic energy. At that point the universe will begin contracting. When the contracting is complete a singularity containing all of the mass in the universe will form and explode in a big bang.\n\nIf you think about it, if the latter theory is true then it's possible that the universe has expanded and collapsed an infinite number of times in the past!
1003903
There are three possibilities, depending on solutions to the equations of General Relativity and how much mass is in the universe:\n\n1. the universe will stop expanding and then collapse in on itself to a big crunch\n2. the universe will keep expanding for ever\n3. the universe will reach a "stable size" - neither collapse nor expand forever\n\nNo-one knows which.
176516
This is an issue of science not religion. Science makes predictions based on observation, and if they come out right the theory is adopted. Based on Edwin Hubble's observations on the spectrum of faraway stars, where certain elements' lines were shifting to red along the time, the conclusion was withdrawn that they were increasing their distance from us, in all directions, therefore, the universe is expanding. Given the rate of expansion it was figured out that between 13 and 15 billion years ago all matter must have been clumped together. recent observations with anisotrophy probes showed that the background radiation of the cosmos dates back from 13.7 billion years. So at that time all matter/energy was clumped together and what we call a quantumn fluctuation set it in expansion. All matter was formed within a trillionth of a second followed by a quick expansion. This is proven by physics by means of mathematical equations that for the common mortal are just beyond mental reach, but fortunately some humans developed a very intelligent brain. Unless of course you prefer to think that a pink unicorn sneezed, and there you got the universe. In which case, be my guest, but deep down inside I'd pity you. (But in fact I know you don't believe such fanciful stories).
220589
For all we know there is nothing "outside" the universe, so obviously no way to look "at" it from any "outside". That way there is no way to compare the size of it, why you could probably say, the universe is infinitely small. There is a mathematical smallest size, called the Planck-Size. That is just where space ends to be space, so there is no inside. As simple as that. You don't need to invent any kind of god to think about those things.
1046649
Space is expanding at an accelerating rate, and carrying everything along with it. The energy that causes this is called dark energy. What it is is unknown, but it may be a property of space itself.\n\nIf it was just the leftover momentum from the big bang, it would gradually slow. The fact that the expansion is accelerating means it's something else.
196829
The crucial question is whether the universe is dense enough to slow things down enough before everything expands away. Yes, gravity exists all through the universe (at least what we can see). In fact, it was Einstein's theory explaining gravity that first predicted the expansion of the universe (although Einstein legislated that solution away by adding in another term). But if the density is too small, the velocity of expansion is already above the escape velocity and so expansion continues forever.\n\nEven more important, we have recently found that the expansion is accelerating! This means that the term that Einstein put in actually exists, but not in the way he expected. Nobody really understands what is happening with this 'Dark energy'.
122538
Currently the universe is expanding. However, we are not sure yet whats going to happen in the future. This is because it is possible that the universe will constantly keep on expanding as it is right now. Or it is also possible that the gravitational pull of the universe will be so huge that it will collapse under its own gravity. Right now, we are almost at a point of intersection between these 2 cases and in a few thousand years we'll know exactly where this is going. Ofcourse, you and I wont be around to witness that, but astronomically its a small amount time.
1015629
Your thinking is good, but you have to take into account the distance scales involved. On the scale of the entire universe, space is indeed expanding, but on the relatively tiny scale of distances in our solar system, the expansion is miniscule. Also, the gravitational forces involved with holding the planets in their orbits around the Sun easily overcomes the expansion rate.
988250
space is not infinite  although to us it is pretty much,  confused  great.  the universe is currently expanding, whether it will always continue to do so is due to critical density and mean density of the universe.     if critical density = (3i x hubbles constant^2)/ 8piG      if critical density is greater than average density then the universe will contineue to expand forever although it wont ever become infinite because the recession of the galaxies is limited by the maximum speed of light, and the fact that the universe had a begining therefore has a limmited size. \nalso  if average denisty is greater than critical density then the universe will be closed (hyperbolic) and the gravitational pull of the galxies will cause the universe expansion to slow and eventually contract. if critical density = average density then universe expansion will slow down universe would be flat, Most cosmologists believe that the universe is open and will continue to expand, which is nice, heres something nice to think about that if the universe is exapanding at the speed of light and the universe has been around for 1/Ho   1/hubblesconstant then the unverse is about 13 biliion years old this is 4.16x10^17 seconds  times the speed of light  3x10^8 ms-1 is  1.248x10^26m  in one direction   if the universe is spherical  which it isnt but lets pretent it is for an easier calculation then the Volume of the Universe is  4/3 pi r^3    is 8.142x10^78m^3   which is quite alot of space. As the amount of volume that real mass takes up is insignificant at these measurement  we can forget about it.   On the other hand light follows the shortest routes as mass distorts space it is likely that this answer is a bit smaller.  Oh and the universe isnt spherical its more like a ball thats been sat on,    So in summary the universe is not infinite but it is pretty much as it is likely to be expanding at the invariant maximum speed of light so your never going to hit the edge, infact there isnt an edge im not sure would happen if you got to the edge before the first radiation from the beggining of the big band reached the edge,   But i dont think youd get there,  well about your car  at the moment if your car takes up 6m^3  then theres enough space in the universe to hold 1.3x10^78  cars   but theres not enough matter in the universe to make that much cars  for that so dont worry too much about it, also in 1 second the universes volume increases by lots  uhhh     ok if the universe was 8.142x10^78m^3   rite this second  and the universe is exactly 13 billion years  old  (which its not) then in one second later the universe would be bigger yeas thats right  bigger by           ok one second is too small to make any effect on the calcullation,  but if it was a billion years older then it would be 1.016x10^79m^3  thats 2.02x10^78m^3 more than it was a billion years earlier which means it expansion is well logarithmic exponential whatever, the next billion year the universe would expand even more in the same time,   soo  thats even more parking spaces, if u look hardenough im sure you wiil find some.    No wonder i dont have a girlfreind.
514889
Outer space extends to the end of the universe. Further, the universe is constantly expanding. No-one knows if anything is beyond the end of the universe.
1149831
So far our observations are leaning more towards open, because our universe is expanding at an accellerating rate, and it shows no sign of slowing, if it were closed (which we havent found enough matter in the universe to help this theory) then the expansion would slow, come to a stop, and come back and collapse back in on itself. But so far evidence is telling us it won't.
1055858
If you've ever wondered how big the universe is, you're not alone. Astronomers have long pondered this, too, and they've had a hard time figuring it out. Now an estimate has been made, and its a whopper.\n\nThe universe is at least 156 billion light-years wide. \n\nIn the new study, researchers examined primordial radiation imprinted on the cosmos. Among their conclusions is that it is less likely that there is some crazy cosmic "hall of mirrors" that would cause one object to be visible in two locations. And they've ruled out the idea that we could peer deep into space and time and see our own planet in its youth.\n\nFirst, let's see why the size is a number you've never heard of before.\n\nStretching reality\n\nThe universe is about 13.7 billion years old. Light reaching us from the earliest known galaxies has been travelling, therefore, for more than 13 billion years. So one might assume that the radius of the universe is 13.7 billion light-years and that the whole shebang is double that, or 27.4 billion light-years wide.\n\nBut the universe has been expanding ever since the beginning of time, when theorists believe it all sprang forth from an infinitely dense point in a Big Bang.\n\n"All the distance covered by the light in the early universe gets increased by the expansion of the universe," explains Neil Cornish, an astrophysicist at Montana State University. "Think of it like compound interest."\n\nNeed a visual? Imagine the universe just a million years after it was born, Cornish suggests. A batch of light travels for a year, covering one light-year. "At that time, the universe was about 1,000 times smaller than it is today," he said. "Thus, that one light-year has now stretched to become 1,000 light-years."\n\nAll the pieces add up to 78 billion-light-years. The light has not traveled that far, but "the starting point of a photon reaching us today after travelling for 13.7 billion years is now 78 billion light-years away," Cornish said. That would be the radius of the universe, and twice that -- 156 billion light-years -- is the diameter. That's based on a view going 90 percent of the way back in time, so it might be slightly larger.\n\n"It can be thought of as a spherical diameter is the usual sense," Cornish added comfortingly.\n\n(You might have heard the universe is almost surely flat, not spherical. The flatness refers to its geometry being "normal," like what is taught in school; two parallel lines can never cross.)