<blockquote>
  <p>"you would come back to where you began"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That is at least doubtful. Even if the Universe has the topology of a 3-sphere, there hasn't been enough time for light to completely travel around it, and since the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate light would never have the time to return to its starting position. In fact it may well be that the Universe is infinite in extent.</p>

<p>We have looked for evidence that the universe might be smaller, at least in some directions, or have a topology that allows for light to return to its starting point. No such evidence has been found.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-28T11:15:09.497Z
2016-08-28T11:15:09.497Z
James K
<p>If you traveled outward and outward in a straight line, indefinitely and pugnaciously, you would never arrive at an outer boundary. Instead, you would come back to where you began.</p>

<p>Hence, in the same manner, <strong>can we assume to be able to observe the Milky Way in the long distance, anywhere in space</strong>, given the right time and technology? It would be the past version of our self, of course, but is it possible theoretically or practically?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-28T10:58:23.607Z
pugnacious means "in the mood for a fight"  is that the right word?
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-28T14:03:57.943Z
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the basic premise is unlikely based on current understanding of the universe
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-28T14:15:02.233Z
@RoryAlsop as written in A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson: "that question that has occurred to all of us at some point is: Where would your head be if it were no longer in the universe? What would you find beyond? The answer, disappointingly, is that you can never get to the edge of the universe. That’s not because it would take too long to get there—though of course it would—but because even if you traveled outward and outward in a straight line, indefinitely and pugnaciously, you would never arrive at an outer boundary. Instead, you would come back to where you began"
SRachamim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-28T15:14:45.683Z
@RoryAlsop No errata regarding the issue we're talking about.
SRachamim
<cosmology><space-time>
Can we observe the Milky Way on the edge of the universe?
SRachamim
# Can we observe the Milky Way on the edge of the universe?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-28)

If you traveled outward and outward in a straight line, indefinitely and pugnaciously, you would never arrive at an outer boundary. Instead, you would come back to where you began.

Hence, in the same manner, **can we assume to be able to observe the Milky Way in the long distance, anywhere in space**, given the right time and technology? It would be the past version of our self, of course, but is it possible theoretically or practically?

**Tags:** cosmology, space-time

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: pugnacious means "in the mood for a fight"  is that the right word?  
> **username_2**: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the basic premise is unlikely based on current understanding of the universe  
> **username_0**: @username_2 as written in A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson: "that question that has occurred to all of us at some point is: Where would your head be if it were no longer in the universe? What would you find beyond? The answer, disappointingly, is that you can never get to the edge of the universe. That’s not because it would take too long to get there—though of course it would—but because even if you traveled outward and outward in a straight line, indefinitely and pugnaciously, you would never arrive at an outer boundary. Instead, you would come back to where you began"  
> **username_0**: @username_2 No errata regarding the issue we're talking about.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-08-28. Score: 6

> "you would come back to where you began"

That is at least doubtful. Even if the Universe has the topology of a 3-sphere, there hasn't been enough time for light to completely travel around it, and since the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate light would never have the time to return to its starting position. In fact it may well be that the Universe is infinite in extent.

We have looked for evidence that the universe might be smaller, at least in some directions, or have a topology that allows for light to return to its starting point. No such evidence has been found.


---

