In cosmology, there is still no clear answer to a question that affects the age, shape and size of the Universe, and there is no consensus on its finiteness. Because, if the Universe is finite, then it must either contract or expand. In the event that it is infinite, many assumptions lose their meaning.
As early as 1744, the astronomer J.F. Chaiseau first doubted that the universe
endless: because if the number of stars has no boundaries, then why does the sky not sparkle and why is it dark? In 1823, G. Albes argued for the existence of the boundaries of the Universe by the fact that the light coming to the Earth from distant stars should become weaker due to absorption by the substance that is in their way. But in this case, this substance itself should heat up and glow no worse than any star.
This assumption has been confirmed in modern science, which argues that the vacuum is "nothing", but at the same time it has real physical properties. Of course, vacuum absorption
of photon energy leads to an increase in its temperature, which results in the fact that vacuum becomes a secondary radiation source. Therefore, if indeed the dimensions of the Universe are infinite, then the light of stars that have reached the limit distance has such a strong redshift that it begins to merge with the background (secondary) radiation of the vacuum.
At the same time, we can say that the
dimensions of the Universe observed by mankind are finite, since the
speed of light itself is finite
. The distance of 24 Gigaparseksa is the border of the light cosmic horizon. However, due to the fact that
the expansion rate of the Universe is increasing, the end of the Universe is at a distance of 93 billion
light years.The most important result of cosmology was the expansion of the universe. It was obtained by observing the redshift and then received a quantitative estimate in accordance with Hubble's law. This led scientists to the conclusion that the Big Bang theory finds its confirmation. According to NASA,
which were obtained using WMAP, the
age of the universe, starting from the moment of the Big Bang, is 13.7 billion years. However, this result is possible only if it is assumed that the model that underlies the analysis is correct. Using other assessment methods, completely different data are obtained.
Touching upon the structure of the Universe, one cannot but say about its form. The three-dimensional figure that would best represent its image has not yet been found. This complexity is due to the fact that it is still not known exactly whether the Universe is flat. The second aspect is related to the fact that it is not known for certain about its multiple connection. Accordingly, if the dimensions of the Universe are spatially limited, then when moving in a straight line and in any direction, you can be at the starting point.
As we can see, technological progress has not yet reached the level to accurately answer questions regarding the age, structure and size of the universe. Until now, many theories in cosmology have not been confirmed, but have not been refuted either.