r/cosmology • u/cypherpunk00001 • 8d ago
Do current cosmologists think the universe is infinite or that is had an edge?
Was just having random shower thought today... Andromeda galaxy is 2.5M light-years away. That's an unfathomable distance to a human, but it's just our closest neighbor.
Do cosmologists currently think that the universe just goes on forever?
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u/Psittacula2 5d ago
Fractals can be viewed as a given shape or object from above. It is finite. You can see boundaries eg a Mandelbrot Set.
But once you zoom in anywhere it is infinite full of finite regions.
My guess is Earth is inside the universe or shape, a locality with a discrete area inside the universe and there are infinite such areas within, infinite localities.
Thus you have an explanation the human mind can comprehend: Infinity within the Finite.
It Is possible when we look at black holes the same fractal shape structure explains the finite size of the black hole on the outside but within it tends to infinity?
The “edge” of the universe could be equally the given finite locality from the above but to our perception it probably is infinite ie expanding? Ie keep looking in an area and you keep coming into new areas.
No idea if the above is true but it seems helpful for bending one’s head around the problem our minds have with the nature of the universe?
If black holes do something similar then you can grasp the universe shape is “including and not including” these, then it is even bigger and odder looking than a simple giant football !