Without going out there just how sure are we?

[Manok101]

I remember someone saying once that astronomy is the one branch of science we cant physically go there and check it out, and my question is, just how certain are we about what we know? I've always wondered about this, can anyone give me a good answer?

[alowen]

No im afraid not, but i too have wondered "is what we know how it is".....if you get my drift?!

Al

[astroimpulse]

Many scientists say what we know is right for now...until the next, better, theory comes along. Better as in better explains.

[GazA]

its like when Brian Cox was explaning Einsteins theory bout the universe being like a mountain range, i was like "you think it is"

its inspiring that us humans strive to know everything, but in space we can calculate this and that and make some immense equations to explain reasonings, even though it basically is just guessing.

dont get me wrong i like nothing more than just looking up and being surrounded by silence and darkness and just thinking what if etc, like us humans do, we will never comprehend or understand it, which is amazing in itself.

my favourite quote ever (and i think its my own) "space is literally space"

[NGC 1502]

Great question, with not an easy answer. A lot of theory is built up over

what best fits the observable facts (or what we hope are facts !)

But it's not just astronomy or cosmology where we can't go and check,

how about the construction of an atom, mostly theory......

It's good to question what we think we know, and the only way to make

progress.

Ed.

[brianb]

just how certain are we about what we know?

Some things (red shifts, chemical composition of stars) very certain indeed. Some things (dark matter, dark energy) are rather tentative theories. Distances (of stars, except for the nearest ones), a few decades ago we could have been wrong by 50% - now we're sure fof distances to galaxies to the order of 10%. So it all depends what it is that we "know".

[Mr Spock]

The way we feel now, about people several hunderd years ago who thought the Earth was the centre of the universe, is exactly how those people felt about people several hunderd years before them who thought the Earth was flat.

It's all relative, and, people from the future will look at things like relativity and think the same.

So, people who seem knowledgeable today, may seem ignorant tomorrow. You are only as good as current knowledge allows, and current is a very temporary thing.

[mikeknowle]

And the three most wonderful things may be:

i. its a branch of science where the frontiers are being pushed back continually (how many exoplanets detected now? losing count!)...what's next?

ii. Amateurs can make a really significant contribution - can't say that in many other disciplines

iii. we'll probably never, ever know everthing.

Wonderful.

[Earl]

im just trying to get my head around gravity / space time ill get back to you in a few years