Is everything in the Universe expanding at the same rate?
The Universe is continually stretching out, otherwise known as cosmic expansion.
Asked by: Ben Spindler, Staffordshire
The Universe is expanding at a rate of around 75,000km/h for every million light-years distance, on average. That might sound a lot, but it’s only apparent over galactic distances, where gravity no longer dominates
Everyday objects don’t take part in the cosmic expansion; if they did, there’d be no cosmic expansion, as our standard ‘yardsticks’ would also expand, hiding any change.
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Authors
Robert is a science writer and visiting professor of science at Aston University. He likes maths, West End musicals and hamsters.
