The big bang theory has long been considered the primary explanation for the origin of the universe. But could it be that we are looking at the universe through an imperfect lens?
A recent study by Professor Lior Shamir challenges this prevailing notion and suggests that an alternative, less accepted theory can illuminate our understanding of the universe just as effectively, if not more so.
Shamir’s research, published in the journal Particlesprovides fresh evidence supporting the “tired light” theory.
Introduced almost a century ago, the concept offers a different perspective on the expansion of the universe – or lack thereof.
Understanding the “tired light” theory.
In the 1920s, astronomers Edwin Hubble and George Lemaitre noticed something interesting: galaxies farther from Earth seemed to be moving away faster.
This led to the idea of ​​the Big Bang Theory, which suggests that the universe began to expand from a single point about 13.8 billion years ago. But not everyone was on board with the theory.
Around the same time, Fritz Zwicky, a famous astronomer, came up with another idea.
He suggested that the redshift we see in distant galaxies—essentially a redshift of the light spectrum—may not be caused by the fact that these galaxies are moving away rapidly.
Instead, he thought that photons of light from these galaxies might lose energy or “deplete” as they travel through space.
This loss of energy could cause more distant galaxies to move away from us faster than they actually are.
“The tired light theory has been largely neglected because astronomers have accepted the big bang theory as the consensus model of the universe,” says Shamir.
“But some astronomers’ confidence in the big bang theory began to wane when the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) saw first light.”
A new view through the Webb Telescope
The launch of JWST has opened a new window into space, providing clearer and deeper images than ever before.
Scientists expected the images to show a young, developing universe, as the big bang theory would suggest.
But instead, they found mature galaxies — galaxies that appear to be older than the universe itself, if we strictly adhere to Big Bang timelines.
“JWST provided deep images of the very early universe, but instead of showing a small early universe, as astronomers expected, it showed large, mature galaxies,” notes Shamir.
“If the Big Bang happened, as scientists originally believed, these galaxies are older than the universe itself.”
This unexpected discovery by Kansas State University engineers led to renewed interest in alternative theories, including the concept of “tired light.”
Could it be that our understanding of the expansion of the universe is based on assumptions that may need to be reconsidered?
Adding weight to the “Tired Light” theory.
Shamir’s study involved measuring the redshift of more than 30,000 galaxies using imaging from three different telescopes.
The goal was to see how this redshift changed based on the galaxies’ distance from Earth and their motion relative to our planet. The findings were interesting.
“The results showed that galaxies that rotate in the opposite direction to the Milky Way have a lower redshift compared to galaxies that rotate in the same direction as the Milky Way,” explains Shamir.
This difference reflects the motion of the Earth as it rotates with the Milky Way. More importantly, however, the difference in redshift increased with the distance of the galaxies from Earth.
“Since the rotational speed of the Earth relative to the galaxies is constant, the distance of the galaxies from the Earth may be the reason for the difference,” Shamir points out.
“This shows that the redshift of galaxies changes with distance, which Zwicky predicted in his tired light theory.”
Thinking about how the universe began
While Shamir’s findings do not outright disprove the Big Bang theory, they do raise significant inquiry.
If the observed redshift in distant galaxies is not simply due to their speed moving away from us, we may need to rethink the basic assumptions of the big bang theory.
In addition, the “tired light” theory presents interesting possibilities for phenomena that challenge the big bang model.
For example, why do we see galaxies that look older than the universe itself? Could it be that the light we observe simply lost energy over time, rather than the universe expanding at an accelerating rate?
To sum it all up, Shamir’s work suggests that we should look beyond established models to better understand our universe. It encourages other scientists to rethink the long-held assumptions that have shaped their research for decades.
Although the “tired light” theory is far from being replaced by the Big Bang in mainstream science, it is clear that our understanding of the universe is still evolving.
The entire study was published in the journal Particles.
—–
Like what are you reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive interesting articles, exclusive content and the latest updates.
Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.
—–
#Big #Bang #theory #universe #began #disproved #Webb #Telescope