The size of space is mind-blowing! While Earth feels big to us, space stretches beyond human imagination. The observable universe is about 93 billion light-years across, but that’s just what we can see!
1. What is the Observable Universe?
The observable universe includes all objects whose light has had time to reach us since the Big Bang, around 13.8 billion years ago. But since space is expanding, the farthest known galaxies are now 46.5 billion light-years away.
📌 Did You Know? Light from the Sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth, but light from the nearest galaxy, Andromeda, takes 2.5 million years!
2. What Lies Beyond?
Scientists believe the universe is much bigger than what we can see. Some theories suggest the multiverse—a collection of multiple universes!
3. Measuring Distance in Space
Since space is huge, we use light-years instead of kilometers or miles:
- 1 light-year = distance light travels in one year (9.46 trillion km).
- Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth (after the Sun), is 4.2 light-years away.
- The Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away.
🔭 Want to learn more? Read The Universe: Stars & Galaxies
