What fundamental process causes cosmological redshift in distant galaxies?
Answer
The expansion of the fabric of space itself
Cosmological redshift is a consequence of the universe expanding over time. As light travels across the universe, the space through which it moves actually grows and stretches. This physical stretching of space forces the light waves traveling through it to lengthen, shifting them toward the red end of the spectrum. This is fundamentally different from the Doppler effect, which describes an object moving through pre-existing space, because it involves the growth of space-time itself rather than the movement of the light source alone.
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