If the earth is in space, what is space in...like it has to end somewhere....?

Question

If the earth is in space, what is space in...like it has to end somewhere....?

Answer 1

We call it the 'universe'.  

It is estimated to have come into exsistence somewhere between 6,000 years and 20 billion years ago (depending on whether you believe in the Bible or trust in the collected knowledge of the scientific community).  

And...it's pretty darn big.  Really...REALLY....REALLLLLLY....BIG.

Answer 2

I agree with Bruce (above) but your question seems to be, what is the universe in?

To which I can answer, it's not really in anything. This isn't to say it's floating in some vast void of nothingness, but the generally accepted (and non-religious) viewpoint is that the universe IS everything. It can't be in something, because that would say that there's something which isn't universe, and all things that we can know are in the universe. Of course, there may be some sort of 'outside' that we don't know about, but it'd be pretty much impossible to get there, or even to prove it exists.

As to where the universe ENDS, well, we don't know. It's impossible to get there. The basic theory of this goes something like: the universe is expanding (growing). It expands at the speed of light. Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Therefore, we can never get to the edge/end/outside, because this would mean overtaking the speed of expansion, which is impossible.

Answer 3

No, it does not HAVE to end somewhere.

We do not know how big the universe really is.  The only thing we know for sure (well, almost) is that the universe is bigger than the portion we can see (28 billion light-years across in "proper distance" or around 156 billion light-years in "comoving distance").

If the universe is infinite, then it does not have to be "in" anything other than itself.  An infinite universe can expand without having to expand into anything else.

If the universe is of a finite size, there are still ways that it could be all by itself (not within anything) but it could also be within a larger entity (sometimes called a multi-verse -- for "multi-dimensional universe").

In some versions, this could have up to 11 dimensions, with our universe being an expansion of 3 of these 11 dimensions (the others being "curled up" in very small objects).

However, even if that is the case, it is possible that the universe does not have an "end" in a way we can perceive it.

As an analogy, consider the surface of Earth as a 2-dimensional surface wrapped onto itself around a 3rd dimension.  The size of Earth's surface is finite.  However, if you start off in one direction, you can still go on forever, never reaching an end (you will go over your starting point over and over again).

Our universe could be a 3-dimensional version of the same thing.

Answer 4

without space there is nothing. that area simply doesnt exist.

so around space there is an area that doesnt exist. so to put it simply, there is just the universe and nothing outside of it. less than nothing. not just darkness, no. for there to be darkness you have to perceive that there is an area there. but there isnt, so there isnt even darkness. its like asking what the distance between your hand and your wrist are, there isnt an area there (for all intents and purposes)

Answer 5

i think and i have very little to back this up its just a theory that our universe is an ever expanding collection of intersteller matter and energy witin a multiverse of parrallel universes each one different to each other my only problem with this is that if you have an infinite number of expanding universes in a multiverse eventually they wiill have to collide who know maybe this is how the big bang started maybe one univesre filled with matter collided with another comprised of a slightly smaller amount of antimatter and bang say hello to our universe