h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Great post, I always wondered how accurate his numbers were - nice to see he was more or less on the money. Just one question though....
If the outer reach of the Universe is defined as the furthest any material - including light photons, which travel at the speed of light - which originates from within in has traveled, then wouldn't that mean the Universe *is* expanding at the speed of light? Or is the Universal envelope (or whatever it's called) defined in a different way? Or does light go a lot slower at the limit?

My expertise is more 'Python' than 'astrophysics', so everything I found out about while I was researching is in the Entry. Maybe someone will stop by and provide an explanation...

Call me a spoil sport, but that picture of a galaxy with a "You are here" sign on it, is not what our Milky Way looks like. We need a picture with more spirals in it.


On deadstills point, as I understand, the growth of the universe is not caused by stuff in the universe moving, but by space itself streaching, so it doesn't have to be limited by the speed of light.

But the expansion of space and the growth of the Universe aren't the same thing are they? Or am I being thick?

I think they are. There is no edge of the universe, so to speak, so objects are not moving away from each other physically. The universe grows by streaching. Thats why the universe is meant to have grown from the size of a watermelon to the size of the galaxy in only a few seconds, vastly beyond the speed of light.

Quite...

Excellent Entry btw... Loved it..