What crucial insight did Hubble's data provide regarding the nature of the cosmic expansion, as opposed to a simple explosion scenario?
Answer
It is space itself that is expanding, carrying the galaxies along.
A common misinterpretation of the expanding universe is visualizing it as an explosion where galaxies fly outward through existing, static space from a center point. Hubble's findings support a far more profound concept: the expansion is the stretching of space itself—the fabric of spacetime. This expansion is what carries the galaxies along; the greater the distance separating two points, the more space exists between them to stretch, which logically explains why recessional velocity is proportional to distance. This mechanism ensures there is no identifiable center from which everything is moving away.
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