Jump to content

Coming soon: direct observation of the expansion of the universe

Featured Replies

Apparently in a decade or so, we should have telescopes good enough that they will be able to measure the expansion of the universe by watching the changing red-shift of distant galaxies. This might even happen in my lifetime! 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/11/12/this-is-how-astronomers-will-finally-measure-the-universes-expansion-directly/

Quote

Even with today's most powerful telescopes, we can only measure redshifts to a resolution of about 100-to-200 cm/s, which means we'd have to wait centuries to even begin to measure changes in how we view these distant objects.

The ELT(*) should be sensitive to changes in redshift that correspond to additional shifts of just 10 cm/s in overall magnitude.

This represents an improvement of a factor of 10-to-20 over existing telescopes, and means that if we wait just a decade (or perhaps a decade-and-a-half) once the ELT comes online at full power, we should be able to measure the expansion of the Universe directly.

(*) Extremely Large Telescope - zero points for imagination

It's exciting, but I think the previous OWL would have been much better. Just imagine the images from a 100 meter mirror!

Still, I can't wait for it to be built, the images should be amazing. 

IMG_2531.PNG.b76edd2360219115ce284e5e1a352318.PNG

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.