"The present location of the origin of the CMBR is 15-B light years in all directions." Does this mean you believe in anthropocentrism?"

The universe would appear to be the same in all directions wherever we were. It's kind of like (though not exactly like) sitting on the surface of a sphere and seeing the same thing in all directions.

"Is the CMBR light then about to go out any time now?"

What do you mean by "go out"? The CMBR is like a field that permeates the universe. It has existed for all times after the universe became optically thin.

"But another bug in the program: The CMBR point of origin is out at ~15-B light years? And the universe is infinite? But my understanding is that
your spacetime is expanding coincident with the expansion. "

You're right, except that the expansion IS of spacetime (a combination of space and time). The universe is not infinite (according to current theories).

"Quintessence!!! Naw, can't be. Someone would have discovered it to have arisen from relativity's equations by now"

Relativity does not predict the initial conditions or contents (such as a quintessence energy) of the universe, it just describes how the universe evolves for a GIVEN set of initial conditions. In other words, we have to guess a cosmological theory, track its evolution with relativity, and see if it fits the observations. Before you say anything, NO this is not the same as fitting an equation to the data.

"I'm going to watch the Simpsons."

Excellent choice. Enjoy.

• the Rim galaxies - yaniru - November 20, 2002 - 12:33 UTC
  • Are you talking to me? - cosmotiger - November 20, 2002 - 19:22 UTC
    • No Ray- but it seems to be too late-nt - yaniru - November 20, 2002 - 21:28 UTC