Hubble just took a picture of the beginning of time

Oliver · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:42 am Hubble just took a picture of the beginning of time**

Hi,

A few days ago, I heard on the news that the Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of the universe when it was about 1 billion years old (see note). This means that, in fact, we have a picture of our Solar system (still in the beginning of it's formation) when it was 1 billion years old. We're looking at ouselves.

How is this possible? I understand that the light that has been picked up by Hubble, took about 13 billion years to get here. So in fact, what we see is just a glimpse of the past, it's not really there, it's long gone.

What puzzles me is how can we pick those images up? It's like I go and stand on point A, I throw a ball towards point B, I run faster than the speed of the ball, I go and stand on point B and a few seconds later, I catch the ball.

In order for Hubble to pick up those images that originated 13 billion years ago, at a distance of 13 billion light years away from Earth, we must have gone faster than the speed of light???

Oliver

NOTE: I am using the American number system. 1 billion = 1000 times 1 million = 10E9.
I looked it up and the American number system is not the same as the British.

American system___________British system
billion_________10E9________milliard
trillion________10E12________billion
quadrillion_____10E15________trillion
...and so on...

EnsignParis · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 07 Sep 2001 Posts: 257

I think you might be a little confused.

We may have taken a picture that is 13 billion LY away, but it wouldn't be of us.

It would be a picture of that object that is 13 billion LY away at the state it was 13 billion years ago.

Oliver · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 11:14 am**

Actually, I'm quite sure the newsreaders said that we had a picture of ourselves, we were looking at our past. I listened to the news very intensly and watch a rerun to make sure.

You mean to say they are wrong? Maybe they meant that we have an image of a Sol-type system?

EnsignParis · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 07 Sep 2001 Posts: 257

PrankishSmart · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 11:40 am**

Really? I thought NASA has hubble put out of service now. I thought it is doing nothing but orbiting the earth now and they are talking about bringing it back down.

Oliver · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 3:02 pm**

I believe NASA won't do another maintenance on the Hubble anymore, which means it's quality will deteriorate ad eventually become just another piece of junk orbiting our blue planet. But I think it'll last a few more years.

John Connor · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 7:04 pm**

Ive hard about this and its really cool of what NASA is doing now a days.

Achilles · **Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:23 pm**

I'm very sure the newsreaders must have been wrong. I saw the same thing a few days ago - it was on a program about the universe as I was randomly flicking around the channels - and they said the hubble telescope had taken a picture of a forming galaxy when the universe was 1 billion years old. A galaxy that is located 13 billion light years away. It couldn't have been our galaxy, let alone solar system, seeing as our solar system is only 5 billion years old.

imzadi76 · **Tue Mar 16, 2004 9:04 am**

by us, I think they meant our galaxy

Oliver · **Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:14 am**

Dax Orien · **Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:39 am**

Assuming that we did take a picture of ourselves, wouldn't that mean that the telescope traveled faster than light and then took a picture of us? I mean if we are point A, and it travels to point B a few lightyears away at a speed greater than that of light, wouldn't it then and only then be a picture of earth in the past?

Oliver

Dax Orien · **Tue Mar 23, 2004 8:46 am**

Yeah I totally got what you were saying, I really think that someone needs to explain how that is possible.

raziel · Crewman Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Sarajevo

Seeing our past is not possible except in one case and that is when:
Light emmited into space durring our galaxys creation is beeing reflected of something (i dunno what) and hubble picked up that image (reflected one)

I think its possible to see history of another galaxies...
no i dont think,I know it's possible because their light is still traveling through out the space, but if we want to see real creation of a galaxy it has to one that is very very very far from here so we can pick up the first glimpse of light emmited from it

Again this is my opinion so feel free to correct me, and i hope my english is OK!

Valathous · **Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:30 pm**

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