Jump to content
  • Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

[NASA] How Big is Space? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode: 61


Recommended Posts

  • Diamond Member

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

How big is space?

Space is really big. Thinking about our solar system, let’s imagine you could get in a car and drive to Pluto at highway speeds. It would take you about 6,000 years to get there.

When we start to think about other stars outside of our solar system, we need to think about

another unit of distance. This is why astronomers use the unit light-years.

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. One light year is about 6 trillion miles. The closest star to our Sun is about four light years away.

Our own Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across.

We know from deep field images of the universe that there are hundreds of billions, perhaps a trillion other galaxies.

Using some of the deepest images yet from the James Webb Space Telescope, we’ve been able to see galaxies that emitted their light about 13 and a half billion years ago.

Now, here’s a really important thing. Because the universe is expanding, those most distant galaxies are actually much further away than 13 and a half billion light years.

I’m glossing over some math here, but we can estimate that the observable universe is about 92 billion light-years across. But we’re pretty sure that the universe is even ******* than what we can see.

And here’s where things get really weird, we don’t actually know if the universe is finite or infinite.

As much as we’ve learned about the universe, science has no reliable estimate of the actual size of the entire universe.

[END VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

Share

Details

Last Updated
May 21, 2025

Related Terms

Explore More

This is the hidden content, please
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please
This is the hidden content, please

This is the hidden content, please

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Vote for the server

    To vote for this server you must login.

    Jim Carrey Flirting GIF

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Important Information

Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.