<p>There is a preferred standard of rest, that of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). You can detect motion with respect to the microwave background. So move fast with respect to the background and the CMB in the direction of motion will be blue-shifted and in the opposite direction will be red-shifted compared to a direction orthogonal to the direction of motion.</p>

<p>The Earth motion has been measured with respect to the CMB, <a href="http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CMB-dipole-history.html" rel="nofollow">see here</a></p>

<p>You could/can also detect your motion from the anisotopy of galactic red-shift in the same way.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-21T13:12:08.183Z
Classic APOD: CMB Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe   http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140615.html
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-21T07:01:12.487Z
2015-06-21T07:13:47.197Z
2015-06-21T07:13:47.197Z
Conrad Turner
<p>As I understand it, the distribution of matter is roughly homogeneous across space -- anywhere I stand in the universe, there will about the same amount of matter in every direction around me.</p>

<p>Is the distribution of matter across <em>velocities</em> roughly homogeneous?  If I flew away from the center of the Milky Way at .999c, would all directions look roughly the same, or would I notice a wind of galaxies and neutrinos traveling at a preferred velocity?</p>

<p>Tags I cannot add: cosmological principle, homogeneity, isotropy</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T18:55:42.017Z
Everything in the universe is moving away from everything else in every direction at greater speeds at greater distances, so no, there is no preferred velocity (or speed).
HDE 226868
<cosmology><velocity>
Does the universe prefer a velocity?
Robert Cooper
# Does the universe prefer a velocity?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-20)

As I understand it, the distribution of matter is roughly homogeneous across space -- anywhere I stand in the universe, there will about the same amount of matter in every direction around me.

Is the distribution of matter across *velocities* roughly homogeneous? If I flew away from the center of the Milky Way at .999c, would all directions look roughly the same, or would I notice a wind of galaxies and neutrinos traveling at a preferred velocity?

Tags I cannot add: cosmological principle, homogeneity, isotropy

**Tags:** cosmology, velocity

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Everything in the universe is moving away from everything else in every direction at greater speeds at greater distances, so no, there is no preferred velocity (or speed).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-06-21. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There is a preferred standard of rest, that of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). You can detect motion with respect to the microwave background. So move fast with respect to the background and the CMB in the direction of motion will be blue-shifted and in the opposite direction will be red-shifted compared to a direction orthogonal to the direction of motion.

The Earth motion has been measured with respect to the CMB, [see here](http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CMB-dipole-history.html)

You could/can also detect your motion from the anisotopy of galactic red-shift in the same way.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Classic APOD: CMB Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe   http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140615.html  

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