How Big Is The Universe?

fantastic vid! with great animations like those you could do 'tour vids' of the local area in our galaxy (show where some hi-light exo-planets are in relation to us) as well as our local group of galaxies and beyond. we see new pics of different stellar objects everyday but it would be interesting to see where they are and how far away they are in relation to us!

This is the best episode I have watched so far. Very well done and very thought provoking. I've listened to it twice and expect to try a few more times to absorb it all! Please keep it up, and don't be shy about reaching for the really tough topics! Suggestion: If so much of the universe is 'dark matter', are there stars and planets out there made of dark matter? If not, why not?

Kevin Gill's animations in this one are just gorgeous! I had to watch the video twice just to admire the animations again. Also, I enjoyed Fraser's pronunciation of the letter z as "zed" :-). On a more serious note, with space as vastly hugely big as it is, there have to be other inhabited planets out there.

The universe is very big all right but it would only take a miniscule error in the calculation of red shift or some of the other 'standard candles' for the distances to be vastly different, bigger or smaller. For instance, can we be absolutely sure of the speed of light over the vast distances. What if it is be slowed down (or speeded up) by intervening matter or gravitational effects. What effect is dark matter or dark energy having on our measurements, assuming they exist at all. Still lots to learn about the space we live in.

That's an awesome mic. I saw the wind, but didn't hear it. I love this format btw, the nature walk idea is nice. When are we doing our next cruise? :P