What is the plane of the universe?

[orionrider]

It seems gravity makes all things turn around each other in a specific plane. The Moon around the Earth, The Earth around the Sun, the Sun around the galaxy,...

Is there a preferred plane in which star systems or galaxies rotate, or is it totally random?

The recent picture of the universe published on SDC made me wonder: do all these galaxies also turn around something?
What is the plane of the universe?
:?:

 

[MeteorWayne]

There is no plane to the matter in the Universe...it's more or less evenly distributed, though lumpy at various scales.
There is no central point for it to rotate about, since the center of the Universe is everywhere.

 

[orionrider]

the Universe is everywhere.

I know it is, but I still can't visualize the concept. I also have trouble explaining to my children when they say "How far are we from the edge?"... :?

Do you know a website where they explain the universe in simple terms, with illustrations or examples?
Most of the time they just say it is so and you have to believe but that doesn't give you an idea of what it looks like.

 

[http]

hi, i got a bit confused by your question. one of the friend has answered about their being no plane in universe.
do you mean dimensions in the universe or do you mean some plan of arrangement of universe?

1. no, there is no special plane of universal bodies that may explain all the phenomenon but if we have to answer about at least one important dimensional plane in universe, the appropriate reply should be space time continuum.\

2. your observation about gravity being responsible for revolving bodies is now a days is avoided. instead the factor being responsible for orbital movements of bodies is the warped structure of space time continuum.

after relativity, this reasoning is considered appropriate. [see principle of equivalence]
although really speaking its just a use of changed words that is quoted now.

because ultimately, it boils down to the same thing as warped space time continuum is warped precisely due to gravity's effect.

as to the galactic motion, they revolve around still bigger and outer galaxies.
like a spiral.
eg. moon revolves around earth.

earth around sun.

sun around higher stars of milky way.

milky way still higher etc.

 

[orionrider]

Thanks http, and welcome on SDC

In fact I was asking about a preferred plane in which a majority of celestial object would be aligned, like the supergalactic plane ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergalac ... ate_system ), but on the size of the whole universe.

I have found a few references about the SGP, but none explains why a majority of nearby galaxy clusters is aligned on this 2D plane :?:

 

[theridane]

A plane where most stuff orbits forms after a while, once collisions between bodies push all stuff into a plane. Even if the universe had a center, there simply wasn't enough time for collisions to clean up the "cloud" and form a plane - that takes several million orbits, and that translates to a load of time if your orbits' sizes border on infinite.

The distribution of matter looks much more like foam than a disc.

 

[orionrider]

Excellent link, thank you theridane

It is baffling that scattered matter tends to form an accretion disk from small dust clouds up to galactic objects, but not above. Of course, like you say it could be too early for the process to have built enough momentum. The fact that galaxies are receding is also probably interfering in this behavior.
There is still so much to learn...

 

[EarthlingX]

You might like this :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U[/youtube]

 

[SpeedFreek]

It is baffling that scattered matter tends to form an accretion disk from small dust clouds up to galactic objects, but not above. Of course, like you say it could be too early for the process to have built enough momentum. The fact that galaxies are receding is also probably interfering in this behavior.
There is still so much to learn...

When matter formed into clumps of stuff and things started bouncing off each other, angular momentum caused rotation and things started to spin in relation to the universe around them.

But the universe itself does not seem to be spinning in relation to anything, so the (randomly rotating) galaxies and stuff seem to have spread out evenly in all directions.

 

[Woggles]

But the universe itself does not seem to be spinning in relation to anything,

I find that interesting. If it was spinning could we even measure the spin? Or we can't measure because we are in the universe and everything is relative?

 

[MeteorWayne]

There is no central mass to orbit around, and if the Universe is spinning, as said above relative to what?
Without a central mass, if the whole thing is spinning, it is irrelevant.

 

[orionrider]

You might like this :

Thank you EarthlingX, amazing video. I showed it to my children, they were 'ooh!' and 'aah!'

 

[EarthlingX]

You might like this :

Thank you EarthlingX, amazing video. I showed it to my children, they were 'ooh!' and 'aah!'

I'm on lookout for such things for my almost 4 years old nephew, and i'm glad your kids liked it too

I recommend checking Digital Universe too.