Universe is 'shaped like a football'

We could be living in a small Universe where space is curved in on itself, rather like a football, say researchers in this week's Nature journal.

Leonardo da Vinci had the right idea
More precisely, we may inhabit a dodecahedral cosmos. It is, according to the scientists, the best way to account for the latest satellite observations.

Dodecahedrons, and similar shapes, have long fascinated mankind. Plato believed that the Universe was made up of them.

Leonardo da Vinci also studied them, as did the great astronomer Kepler, who thought the structure of the Solar System was based on geometrical shapes.

rest of story here:

news.bbc.co.uk...

Wow! What do you think this means if it's true? Apparently if you come to the edge of the Universe and go through it you would just appear back into it at the other side. It looks like everything does truly work in cycles (circles), if this is true I think it might actually make me believe in God, why I don't know.

What does everyone think of this?

Seems very strange, but think of the space travel possibilities! I know we are nowhere near the level of technology needed but if we got to the closest edge of the universe, then effectively we could explore the entire other half so to speak.
The biggest thing for me is that the universe may be finite after all!

Hmmm... Travelling at one edge and popping back in at the other sounds like a video game theory of the universe. I guess its possible, but it would be odd to have such a thing be accurate.

reading new scientist now and it seems the egyptians knew about this!

Egytian astronomer Ptolemy perfected the idea of a finite universe.

hmmm......

It seems that the ancient cultures were just much smarter than us. If these people were able to access the technology we have today we'd probably already be on the other side of the Universe.

Originally posted by Kalistenics
Seems very strange, but think of the space travel possibilities! I know we are nowhere near the level of technology needed but if we got to the closest edge of the universe, then effectively we could explore the entire other half so to speak.
The biggest thing for me is that the universe may be finite after all!

70 billion light years is STILL a lot of territory.

Of course it works in cycles...everything we see does, why should the Universe be an exception???

I don't think it's like we'd "pop" back where we started, but more like an attempt to walk around the Earth... The curve is so minute (to a human), that you wouldn't feel as though you were doing so, but just as walking around the Earth, sure enough, you'd end up where you started...

It has long been my suspicion Gaz but I believed that the actual cluster of galaxies was round, but with space going on forever. The shock to me is that this must mean that space ends where the Universe does, which for some reason makes me very optimistic about a higher power and all the scientific implications.

Very interesting article, one more crazy theory about the universe
Football fans have known this for decades now, FOOTBALL is the essence of the universe

On a more serious note, I have a question: it says that universe is expanding, and its size is 70 billion light years. Now, universe is 15 billion years old. Nothing can travel faster then light. After big bang if the two atoms of matter were speeding away in oposite direction at higherst posible speed, the largest distance between them would be 30 billion light years, from one end of the know universe to another. How come then that the size of the universe is 70 billion light years?

If there is a logical mistake somewhere in my reasoning, feel free to make a fool out of me, I dont mind, I just want to know the answer

Heres a better link than the bbc one!


www.newscientist.com...

If there is a logical mistake somewhere in my reasoning, feel free to make a fool out of me, I dont mind, I just want to know the answer

I've always though that age for the Universe is wrong... Interesting point about the light speed though.. I'm not a big math fan, so I've never bothered with that one...

I'm curious how this could reinforce the idea of a creator though....I would think just the opposite...

Originally posted by Gazrok
I'm curious how this could reinforce the idea of a creator though....I would think just the opposite...

Can I ask why if you don't mind?

I think it's pretty silly to try and predict the size and shape of the Universe. Einstein said it's impossible for humans to fully comprehend the idea of the universe. I believe the same thing. If something "stops" or "ends", that would signify something beyond that, thus there would have to be a continuation of the universe, which in turn makes less sense than the universe just being infinite.

Well it makes sense if when you come to the end you realise you are right back at the beginning again. Did you read the theory? If you reach the end of the Universe and went through, you would appear back into it at the opposite side. Thus there is nothing beyond it, it is a cycle like everything else in it. Did you read this? What's so silly about that?

I guess there's nothing silly about that then? what do others think, is it a waste of time to even try? (what a defeatist attitude)

You guys know that next week someone will come out with a new study completely disagreeing with this one right?

yeah, that's why we're discussing the "what if's?". what are the implications 'if' it is true?

Originally posted by John Nada
It seems that the ancient cultures were just much smarter than us. If these people were able to access the technology we have today we'd probably already be on the other side of the Universe.

well of course, if they had our technology, right now we'd have probably colonized the solar sytem and beyong and been somewhere far far away froim earth!!! plus much technology has been lost during the medieval age, such as running water for sinks and all....

If the universe was like that, then the night sky would be white, because we would see the same light coming from all directions...so it isn't like a football.

The universe is a lot bigger than the distance the first light has travelled.

And remember, when trying to describe the shape of the universe, you have to think four-dimensionally.