Is there anything beyond the universe?

Answer 1

Hi Cat,

This is a super interesting question that scientists don't really have an answer for.

The universe is 13.7 billion years old, which means that the furthest we can see is 13.7 billion light years. So the further away we look, the further back in time we are looking. Light has only had 13.7 billion years to travel, so anything that is further away, well its light has not reached us yet. What's interesting is that from our perspective, everything is moving away from us. So it seems like we are the center of the universe and also the origin of the Big Bang. However, if we were to live on a different planet 1 billion light years away from Earth we would see the same thing. Again, in every direction, no matter where we looked, we would only be able to see 13.7 billion light-years. All this is to say that we are not the center of the universe and therefore the universe is bigger than 13.7 billion light-years but we don't actually know how much bigger.

The universe is basically everything, so past what we can see is still the universe. We don't know what shape the universe is or exactly where it ends. But we do know that it is expanding. What is it expanding into, you might ask? Well, itself. Because the universe is everything and has no definitive end but we know it is expanding. It really is a big mystery and a crazy paradox. Lots of scientists have different theories on what shape the universe is and what could be beyond it, but we don't have any evidence. And since light, even being the fastest thing in the universe, still takes 13.7 billion years to get to us, we may never know.

Another answer to this question could come from the multiverse or multidimensional theories. That there are many universes that exist each with its own laws of physics. Or the concept that there are worlds that exist within 4th or 5th-dimensional space, unlike our 3-dimensional one. These, in a sense, could be considered "beyond" our own universe and again could be ruled by different physical laws.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Best,

Talia