Luminal Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Hi. When estimates are made concerning the number of galaxies in the Universe, such as 100 billion, are these estimates of the total number using some sort of calculations (that are beyond me) which take into account expansion rates, density, age, shape, and so on.... or are these estimates only regarding the number of galaxies in the observable Universe? In other words, have scientists essentially ruled out the possibility that the Universe has an infinite number of galaxies at this point in time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've always assumed they mean observable Universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephir Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 ...have scientists essentially ruled out the possibility that the Universe has an infinite number of galaxies at this point in time... Of course not, but here's a practical limit in our ability to see them due the limited speed of light spreading. If we consider, the distribution of galaxies density is uniform, this effectively rules out the possibility, we can ever see an infinite number of galaxies at the same moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminal Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Of course not, but here's a practical limit in our ability to see them due the limited speed of light spreading. If we consider, the distribution of galaxies density is uniform, this effectively rules out the possibility, we can ever see an infinite number of galaxies at the same moment. I understand that it would be impossible to see an infinite number of galaxies at the same time, however are there not means of estimating the the total number of galaxies using the approximation of the age of the Universe coupled with both the acceleration rate and the current distribution of matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaynos Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I understand that it would be impossible to see an infinite number of galaxies at the same time, however are there not means of estimating the the total number of galaxies using the approximation of the age of the Universe coupled with both the acceleration rate and the current distribution of matter? Not without an estimated size which we don't have. The visible galaxy we know quite well how big it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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