Where is the centre of the Universe?
Solving this cosmological conundrum requires a shift in perspective.
Asked by: Darren Groom, West Bromwich
As the Universe may not have a physical edge, there is no sense in the idea of an ‘absolute’ position. Hence, it is meaningless to think of the ‘centre’ of the Universe; something of infinite extent has no ‘centre’. Imagining the ‘centre’ as the point at which it began is also meaningless.
The Big Bang happened everywhere at once and the Universe has been expanding ever since. Every point can be regarded as being at the ‘centre’ of this expansion. So, the centre of the Universe is nowhere, and everywhere!
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