Slashdot Mirror
The Universe Has 20 Times More Galaxies Than We Thought (gizmodo.com)
A new study by a team of international astronomers has produced some astounding results: they concluded that the universe contains at least two trillion galaxies -- as much as 20 times more than previously thought. The study adds that 90 percent of all galaxies are hidden from us. This hidden portion can't be seen even with our most powerful telescopes. Gizmodo adds: Consequently, this means we also have to update the number of stars in the observable universe, which now numbers around 700 sextillion (that's a 7 with 23 zeros behind it, or 700 thousand billion billion). And that's just within the observable universe. Because the cosmos emerged some 13.8 billion years ago, we're only able to observe objects up to a certain distance from Earth. Anything outside this "Hubble Bubble" is invisible to us because the light from these distant objects simply haven't had enough time to reach us. It's difficult -- if not impossible -- to know how many galaxies reside outside this cosmological blind spot.
How do you get from a velocity of "a bit" to a velocity of "a fucking fucking bastard fucking lot" without accelerating?
Understand I do not believe the following to be true, but they are answers that fit...
1} We discover that the universe is a simulation and learn how to edit parts of it, like X/Y/Z coordinates.
2} We discover unforeseen properties of the universe below our current observable/theorized smallest qualities that allow bypassing conventional transit.
3} We discover access to what is best described as "parallel universes" and can step from one to another, selecting specific parameters as differences between them, such as "my location".
Again, I don't buy any of those as likely. And #2 is nebulous at best. But the point the OP was making is that our understanding of the universe is not yet complete and given a long period of time, the discoveries yet to be made may be very, very startling to someone of our time period. Things we currently think impossible may be possible, just because our understanding of possible is incomplete. This mindset isn't science-fiction... it's just being humble. Speculating precisely what discoveries will be made and how they will work... that's fiction. But believing that we don't have an exhaustive understanding of physics is just sensible.
"Oh no... he found the