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From: jerry@oliveb.UUCP (Jerry Aguirre)
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.astro
Subject: Red shift
Message-ID: <337@oliveb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-May-84 16:33:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: oliveb.337
Posted: Wed May  2 16:33:58 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 4-May-84 04:44:03 EDT
Organization: Olivetti ATC, Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 22

All this talk about the "big bang" has reminded me of a question I've
wondered about.  Current astronomical theory has the entire universe
receding from the earth.  Measurements show that the further an
object is away the faster it is receding.  All this is based on the
red shift in the light reaching us from those objects.

Basing the theory of the creation of the universe on one
uncorroborated measurement seems risky.  I would ask two questions?

	1 - Is there any thing besides red shift to indicate that
	    the universe is receding from us?
	
	2 - Have any alternate theories been proposed to account
	    for the red shift?

I know at one time it was wondered if photons get "tired" and change
frequency (since they can't slow down).  As I understand it this
theory is no longer  popular.  How about frequency shift from climbing
out of a gravity field?

					    Jerry Aguirre
    {hplabs|fortune|ios|tolerant|allegra|tymix}!oliveb!jerry