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From: john@x.UUCP (John Woods)
Newsgroups: net.astro.expert
Subject: Re: Where's the center of the universe?
Message-ID: <514@x.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 24-May-85 16:40:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: x.514
Posted: Fri May 24 16:40:59 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 27-May-85 06:07:09 EDT
References: <1544@amdahl.UUCP> <5869@duke.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA
Lines: 22

> In article <1544@amdahl.UUCP> gam@amdahl.UUCP (G A Moffett) writes:
> >If the Universe is expanding from a common point, where is that
> >point?  In particular, in what area of our sky is the direction
> >of this point?
>
> Someone better qualified than I will probably give a wonderful technical
> explanation, but in the mean time....
> 
> The big bang background radiation (i.e. 3degK microwave flux) appears to
> be evenly distributed around the sky in all directions; that is, there
> is no stronger point in any direction.  This could be interpreted to
> mean that *we* are at the centre of the universe (and I'm surprized that
> no Creationist has picked that one up.)
> 
Well, not quite.  It is, in fact, a tad warmer in the rough direction of
Saggitarius, which is therefore the center.  The difference is extremely
small, so it took some time to detect it.
-- 
John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101
...!decvax!frog!john, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw%mit-ccc@MIT-XX.ARPA

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