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As our instruments get better, are we going to find these clusters further and further out until we hit the supposed age of the universe @ 13.7B years? Then wha
by ImTalking 10y ago
As our instruments get better, are we going to find these clusters further and further out until we hit the supposed age of the universe @ 13.7B years? Then what? When do we start thinking that maybe the models are potentially wrong?
- CapitalistCartr 10y agoWhen we have evidence to the contrary. Speculation about what we might find in the future doesn't change anything.
- ChuckMcM 10y agoExactly right. Its exciting because we get new data and if it contradicts theory, it forces us to reconsider what we think is the correct answer. And in that reconsideration our understanding grows. It is unfortunate that we cannot image this object once a day for 5 years and then watch its changes over that time period in one 30 minute viewing. Telescope time is too valuable to "waste" but I wonder what it might show us.
- maxxxxx 10y agoLet's say our telescopes get better and better. Are there any hard limits for how well we can resolve the light from such a galaxy?
- bronson 10y agoThe Planck constant presumably, if we can get that far. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_constant#Significance_of_the_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_constant#Significance_o...
- ekimekim 10y agoI don't understand the actual science well enough myself to explain, but my understanding is that there are lots of limits to do with optics, the behaviour of light over such distances, the wavelike nature of light, etc. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction-limited_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction-limited_system for example.
- prewett 10y agoPractically, yes, telescopes are limited by the diffraction limit. This depends on ratio of the wavelength of the light being captured to the size of the optics. In theory one could make larger and larger perfect lenses/mirrors, but practically there is a limit somewhere. More information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_resolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_resolution I suppose at some point quantum effects will take over, but I'm guessing the manufacturing requirements for perfect optics will be the limited factor long before then.
- josePhoenix 10y agoFor large-aperture ground-based telescopes operating in the visible spectrum, the seeing limit is the dominant effect. Atmospheric turbulence is a bigger factor than the precision of your optics, in other words. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing (Space telescopes are diffraction-limited but have other constraints, like mass budget and cost, that keep them from being as large as ground based facilities.)
- TeMPOraL 10y ago> Telescope time is too valuable to "waste" but I wonder what it might show us. It would be great if we could build more of them. I'm hoping that the cheaper access to space coupled with some clever hacks will let us throw a few more up there.
- ImTalking 10y agoI would say that galaxy clusters forming after only 2.6B years is an indication that our models are already wrong.