What is the Horizon Problem?

As scientists attempt to explain the creation of the universe and the Big Bang, they run into a real unsolved mystery presently termed as “the horizon problem”.  Scientists are truly baffled by this unsolved mystery science phenomena – the fact that the universe is so vast that it has not had any contact with other aspects of the universe, and yet it remains at the same temperature.  A real mystery, there are a number of theories pertaining to the horizon problem and how it is caused.

Horizon Problem Theory

The unsolved mystery science phenomena is a baffling one for scientists because it has been scientifically proven that heat, light, and energy can only travel as fast as the speed of light.  That being the case, the real unsolved mystery lies in the fact that there are various regions in our universe that maintain the same temperatures and properties despite the fact that such regions have never been connected in any way.  Some scientists have attempted to address this real mystery with a variety of theories.

Understanding the Universe

In order to understand the horizon problem that scientists are faced with, one must first understand the concept behind the horizon problem, as well as some basic facts about the universe.  Modern day scientists argue that the universe is some 15 billion years old.  It is also believed that the further one looks into the nighttime sky, the further back in time one sees – this is because it takes so much time for light to travel and reach the earth. Thus, the most distant lights in the sky are some 15 billion years old – here is what scientists define as the particle horizon. Since the universe is only 15 billion years old, scientists have difficulty explaining how certain areas and regions of the universe are the same uniform temperature – for example: if you were to measure the radiation in one cardinal direction and then measure it in the opposite cardinal direction (i.e. East, West), you would find that both regions were precisely the same temperature despite the fact that the distance between the two locations was more than 15 billion years.  If light travels at the speed of light, this should not be possible because what is located in the east has not reached the west, theoretically speaking – herein’ lies the real mystery.

For more information about the Universe visit:
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Cosmos/HorizonProblem.html