Are We Wrong About the Universe?
Some experts believe we need to revamp our entire understanding of how the Universe works.
Hiya!
They say we humans have short memories, and if you’re someone who pays attention to what’s happening around us, you probably agree. We have a terrible habit of ignoring warning signs and history in favor of believing we’re invincible and have all the answers. We also aren’t fans of failure or being wrong, especially when immense labor and money are invested in an idea.
Yet, part of progress is failure, and it’s essential to question what we think we know. We may have a long way to go when managing our social and environmental issues, but there’s one area where failure is really just an expansion of truth — Outerspace.
History Refresher
Back in the day, as in leading up to the mid-1500s, many philosophers, scientists, and biblical writers thought the universe was a Ptolemaic System— that the Earth was stationary and motionless at the center of the universe, while the Sun, Moon, and planets rotated around it. The church immensely enjoyed this belief too, and over many years, European countries embraced the idea as it reinforced our views that humans are exceptional and favored by the gods.
Then, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus came along and upended everything everyone thought they knew about how the universe works. The Ptolemaic System was the governing rule throughout Copernicus’ life, but he’d heard criticism of it while studying at the University of Bologna that intrigued him.
He grew curious and began developing a new theory. He wrote a short essay known now as Commentariolus, or “Little Commentary,” between 1508 and 1514, which begins to lay out a new concept for the universe’s design we now know as a Heliocentric System. Copernicus makes the case that the Sun is the center of the universe and everything rotates around it, not Earth — but he never published it.
He spent the rest of his life perfecting the theory to the best of his abilities. He created De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi, or “Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs,” which he published the same year he died. (Talk about a life’s work.)
It wasn’t until after he died that chaos ensued. The heliocentric theory changed everything, and began a battle between dismissing it in favor of what was familiar and already settled, and following the science in seeking the Truth. The tug-of-war went on for decades and lured in other famous philosophers and scientists, including Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei. The latter fought the church’s orthodoxy and was sentenced to prison for heresy.
On June 22, 1633, the church declared:
“We pronounce, judge, and declare, that you, the said Galileo… have rendered yourself vehemently suspected by this Holy Office of heresy, that is, of having believed and held the doctrine (which is false and contrary to the Holy and Divine Scriptures) that the sun is the center of the world, and that it does not move from east to west, and that the earth does move, and is not the center of the world.”
It took the church 300 years to admit they were wrong, and it wasn’t until the late 18th century that Copernicus’ Heliocentric System became common knowledge.
Deja Vú
Welp, according to new research, it appears we might be facing some Deja vú because some modern-day scientists claim that everything we thought about the universe, is wrong. So we find ourselves facing a familiar debate—review everything we know with this new information, or ignore the idea for as long as possible because it’s inconvenient.
One foundational theory of modern-day space exploration is the cosmological principle or the idea that the universe — and the matter and energy within it — is evenly spread out and looks relatively the same regardless of where you are. This is also a convenient solution for calculations if you assume distances and everything else is about the same no matter your location within it.
But, like the days of Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Galileo, and many other brilliant minds of their time who questioned the Ptolemaic system, experts today are questioning the accuracy of the cosmological principle.
A growing number of cosmologists and astrophysicists caution against making sweeping generalizations about the entire universe from the perspective of our small corner within it. Though they’re met with resistance from the rest of the scientific community for similar reasons as centuries before… minus the religious aspect.
Ruth Durrer, a cosmologist at the University of Geneva, summarizes the issue simply in an article by Quantum Magazine,
“If [the cosmological principle] turns out to be wrong, then we have to redo many of our measurements or reinterpret many of our measurements.”
Already, several experts have proposed alternative ideas and point out logical flaws. For instance, it’s easier to assume the universe is the same in all directions, just like it’s easier to calculate distances from the Earth if you say it’s a perfectly round sphere — but the truth is, the plant bulges at the equator. So, it seems plausible that the universe isn’t perfectly round either.
Another idea is that perhaps anisotropy is occurring — when matter drifts toward one direction — the result of which would be a lopsided universe. Those who argue against this idea cite that the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is about the same average temperature of 2.725 degrees above absolute zero in every direction.
Except to achieve that number, they had to account for a slight imbalance. See, CMB is a fraction of a degree warmer toward the Aquarius constellation (#GoTeamAquarius) and a fraction of a degree cooler in the exact opposite direction. The result of which could cause matter to drift.
Though this could also mean the universe is moving, and all the matter and energy within the universe is moving in the same direction along with it — think of how your stomach contents move around on a roller coaster or when you hit the breaks hard while driving.
Another idea is by a cosmologist at the University of Oxford named Subir Sarkar and his team. They published an intriguing paper suggesting our estimations regarding how fast the universe is moving are incorrect. The researchers came by this after calculating our motion on Earth, against more than 1 million distant quasars — massive, bright, and remote objects in space.
They found that the way our Milky Way galaxy moves throughout space creates an optical distortion that may interfere with our understanding of the universe.
Think of it this way, when you’re walking on a crowded street, and you’re in pace with the people around you so it doesn’t appear as though they’re moving overtly fast. But slow down, and it looks like everyone is walking away from you at a faster pace. When you slowed down, it only looks like everyone else sped up. This means the universe may only look like it’s expanding due to the movements of our own Milky Way galaxy in relation to them.
Perspective Shift
These days, outer space has little to do with religion as the battle Galileo fought. We’re well aware that if Heaven exists, it’s not above the clouds or on rotating discs within our solar system. Even still, the universe is a spiritual symbol for many and engages our curiosity to spur us onward to explore as far as current technology and knowledge allow.
We’re at a precipice right now, teetering between holding onto our previous world views while ignoring new information and critical questions about them, and realizing this setback may be just the breakthrough we need to advance. If you think about it, the same could be true for many of today's problems.
To me, acquiring new information — even if it conflicts with long-held beliefs — doesn’t equate to failure. If anything, it’s an opportunity to grow. It may be inconvenient, and most probably expensive, but doesn’t it make more sense to take action sooner rather than waste more time and money on what doesn’t work or isn’t correct? I mean, how much further along would we be, do you think, if the church and State hadn’t fought Copernicus’ Heliocentric system for 300 years?
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