As the universe grows larger, the light waves within it get longer, like a slinky being pulled apart. The diameter of the observable universe is estimated at about 28 billion parsecs (93 billion light-years). No one knows for sure just how big the universe is. Please refresh the page and try again. Image: NASA/WMAP Science Team, Butterfly of Galaxies Throughout history, humans have used a variety of techniques and methods to help them answer the questions 'How far?' The most distant light that astronomers can see comes from the cosmic microwave background radiation. Centering a sphere on Earth's location in space might seem to put mankind in the center of the universe. It is remarkably uniform, with sections differing from one another by only one part in 100,000. ), Nearby Superclusters Astronomers generated this picture by pointing Hubble at one small patch of the sky for several months and recording every tiny photon of light they could get. The galaxies in this image would be more accurately described as being at a redshift of 7.9. According to NASA, scientists know that the universe is flat with only about a 0.4 percent margin of error (as of 2013). Just how big is the universe? Enjoy the video & feel free to comment down below your thoughts and suggestions. Wrong. Because how are you supposed to get a grip on just how big the Universe is, when everything's measured in light-years - which are, you know, 9,461,000,000,000 km And the journey continues today, as new methods are used, and new discoveries are made. The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon. Over time, the universe has shuffled distant stars and galaxies away from us as if they were on an extremely rapid conveyor belt, and dropped them off in far away locations. However, these different methods of measuring distances can provide answers. This might seem to imply that the entire universe lies within our view. The model, which incorporates ordinary matter as well as dark matter and dark energy, shows how the large-scale structure of the universe arises from known physics. The universe is a big, big place. Image: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. This suggests that in the cosmic blink of an eye -– merely 200 million years -– larger galaxies built up rapidly from smaller ones. WIRED’s biggest stories delivered to your inbox. Above: Because of the connection between distance and the speed of light, this means scientists can look at a region of space that lies 13.8 billion light-years away. Close to home, astronomers have a relatively good idea of what our immediate cosmic neighborhood looks like. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. Generations of explorers have looked deeper and deeper into the vast expanse of the universe. New York, Though it can’t be seen, dark matter dominates most of the structure. This means that the Virgo Supercluster is 300 times less bright than it should be given its mass, suggesting the presence of a great amount matter sitting idly around and not producing any light, hence “dark matter.” In 2013, the European Space Agency's Planck space mission released the most accurate and detailed map ever map of the universe's oldest light. The description currently serves as a sort of placeholder until more accurate theories are developed to explain its presence. As you can see, these are rather inhuman dimensions that are almost impossible to really get a sense of. Rediscovered Albert Einstein letters sell for more than £7,000 at auction, The wonders of life are more than molecular, Albert Einstein brain samples go on display. As technology has evolved, astronomers are able to look back in time to the moments just after the Big Bang.