gen-briefly-explain-redshift-and-hubble-s-law-and-one-common-mis-75a0

Briefly explain redshift and Hubble's law and one common misconception about it.

# Redshift and Hubble's Law **Redshift** is the stretching of light waves from distant objects, causing them to shift toward longer (redder) wavelengths. In cosmology, this occurs because space itself is expanding, stretching the light as it travels to us. **Hubble's Law** states that galaxies are receding from us at velocities proportional to their distance: v = H₀ × d (where H₀ is the Hubble constant). More distant galaxies move away faster. This relationship provided the first strong evidence for an expanding universe. ## Common Misconception **Galaxies aren't moving *through* space away from us** like debris from an explosion. Instead, the space *between* galaxies is expanding, carrying them apart. This means: - There's no "center" of the expansion—every point in the universe sees other galaxies receding - We're not at a special location; observers in distant galaxies would see the same pattern - Galaxies aren't flying through space at incredible speeds; rather, new space is being created between them This is fundamentally different from objects moving through a static space, though the mathematical description (redshift proportional to distance) looks similar.