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I read somewhere once that there had been detected a slight difference in the expansion rate of the universe in one direction which was suggested could be the direction of the centre or origin of the universe.
Check the thread on Invisible Planets. Every object in Space follows a predictable path. We speak of "zero gravity" but actually there is always some gravity. This gravity causes all objects to orbit something: The galaxies orbit in clusters and these clusters orbit the center of the Universe. Every star in the galaxy orbits the center of the galaxy. The dark worlds you refer to orbit a path just as the stars do.
Whoa, let's go back a moment here. There is NO center of the universe and galaxies, while gravitationally bound, do not orbit each other in the way a star would orbit a galaxy.
I read somewhere once that there had been detected a slight difference in the expansion rate of the universe in one direction which was suggested could be the direction of the centre or origin of the universe.
Are you talking about the accelerated expansion of space?
Which is why galaxies can be seen in collision. But what holds galactic clusters together? Are those clusters expanding?
Most galactic collisionsm if not all, involve galaxies that are gravitationally bound within the clusters. Gravity is what holds the clusters together. The clusters (local clusters) themselves are not necessarily expanding, unless the clusters happen to merge into superclusters. What we find expanding is not local clusters, but rather space itself. However, the accelerated expansion of space is counteracted by gravity within the clusters. The accelerated expansion of space is detected at extremely large scales.
Whoa, let's go back a moment here. There is NO center of the universe and galaxies, while gravitationally bound, do not orbit each other in the way a star would orbit a galaxy.
Take the mass of all the matter of the Universe and you will be able to calculate the center. The orbits may drift and be influenced by other, closer attractions, but they do orbit.
Are you talking about the accelerated expansion of space?
I'm not sure where I saw that, it could have been about the WMAP scan. Why is scan shown as an oval? My apologies OP, there is nothing scary about the WMAP scan or the location of the centre of the universe but it is interesting.
I'm wondering about the orbiting around the centre of the universe, if the big bang really did occur and space itself is expanding then how would matter get into orbit? I can understand a cloud of gas condensing to form a galaxy and stars an such going into a spiral motion but those are condensing, not expanding so I can understand what Lunar Delta is saying.
I'm not sure where I saw that, it could have been about the WMAP scan. Why is scan shown as an oval? My apologies OP, there is nothing scary about the WMAP scan or the location of the centre of the universe but it is interesting.
I'm wondering about the orbiting around the centre of the universe, if the big bang really did occur and space itself is expanding then how would matter get into orbit? I can understand a cloud of gas condensing to form a galaxy and stars an such going into a spiral motion but those are condensing, not expanding so I can understand what Lunar Delta is saying.
The WMAP scan is shown as oval for a few reasons. Technically, it should be spherical because the scan covers most directions of the universe, but not all of it. The view is a scan of all directions possible from the position of the spacecrafts. What I'm saying is that as human beings we don't possess the ability to see things like that. For example, we can't see all parts of the Earth at the same time. So cartographers spread the maps out flat so we can see the whole Earth. The downside is that certain adjustments have to be made to make it work but it's not a precise view. The shape of WMAP images is similar. If you were to try to wrap that oval shape around though to form a spherical globe, the edges wouldn't work to fit together. So the entire view has been flattened out to provide the best view possible of the entire picture. The center of the WMAP does not represent the center of the universe. It's only from the view looking out from the spacecrafts. Does that help make sense of it?
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