What pulls the galaxy?

[Hammzah]

The earth pulls the moon.
The sun pulls the earth.
The galaxy pulls the sun.

What pulls the galaxy?

 

[Skwim]

The earth pulls the moon.
The sun pulls the earth.
The galaxy pulls the sun.

What pulls the galaxy?

Well the moon also pulls at the earth
The Earth also pulls at the Sun

As for what pulls at the galaxy, at one time it was proposed that a mysterious "Great Attractor" was the culprit; however, this has been pretty well dismissed. At present no one really knows what is moving the Milky Way.


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[Axe Elf]

Just like all the others, the galaxy moves because the universe is expanding, and the gravity of other bodies in the universe affects that trajectory. As such, the galaxy is drawn toward areas with a high concentration of celestial bodies, and "pushed" away from relatively sparsely populated areas of space.

 

[Hammzah]

Just like all the others, the galaxy moves because the universe is expanding, and the gravity of other bodies in the universe affects that trajectory. As such, the galaxy is drawn toward areas with a high concentration of celestial bodies, and "pushed" away from relatively sparsely populated areas of space.

So basically, our galaxy is drawn toward something bigger, right? And then, that, that is something bigger is drawn to something bigger. So, in the end there is always a bigger fish, right?

 

[Axe Elf]

So basically, our galaxy is drawn toward something bigger, right? And then, that, that is something bigger is drawn to something bigger. So, in the end there is always a bigger fish, right?

No, not necessarily. Our galaxy would still be drawn by other galaxies even if it was the biggest galaxy there is. Somewhere, there exists the biggest galaxy in the universe; we just have no way of knowing which one (because we aren't able to see all of the universe). But that would be the fish than which no other is bigger. And like I said, not all movement in the universe is the result of gravitational forces. In fact, the lion's share of movement is due to the expansion of the universe from the impetus of the Big Bang; the gravitational forces act largely as modifiers of that initial momentum.

 

[Skwim]

Just like all the others, the galaxy moves because the universe is expanding, and the gravity of other bodies in the universe affects that trajectory. As such, the galaxy is drawn toward areas with a high concentration of celestial bodies, and "pushed" away from relatively sparsely populated areas of space.

"Around four decades ago, astronomers became aware that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was moving through space at a much faster rate than expected.

At 2.2-million kilometres an hour, the speed of the Milky Way through the Cosmos is 2,500 times faster than a cruising airliner; 55 times more than the escape velocity from Earth; and a factor of two greater than even the galaxy’s own escape velocity!

But where this motion comes from is a mystery.

The Big Bang theory of our origin tells us that every point in the universe should be flying apart from every other point. Nevertheless, galaxies on either side of us should be moving at similar recession velocities, which should result in no net motion in the Milky Way’s frame of reference.

Net motion can arise from nearby clumps in the distribution of matter, like a massive cluster of galaxies. The additional gravitational attraction of such a galaxy cluster can slow down, and even reverse, the expansion of the universe in its immediate vicinity.

But no such cluster is obvious in the direction of the Milky Way’s motion. There is an excess of galaxies in the general vicinity, and an excess of radiation visible in X-ray telescopes. But nothing that in any way seems large enough to explain the results.

So are we seeing an over-density of pure dark matter? Or is the current theory of the origin of mass and motion incorrect? Astronomer Alan Dressler, of the Carnegie Institution, used the former explanation, famously dubbing the missing concentration of matter the “Great Attractor”.

But another explanation may lie in the fact that the inferred direction of the missing matter is not too far away from the direction of the Coalsack nebula, which lies deep within our own Milky Way."
source and more

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[Hammzah]

No, not necessarily. Our galaxy would still be drawn by other galaxies even if it was the biggest galaxy there is. Somewhere, there exists the biggest galaxy in the universe; we just have no way of knowing which one (because we aren't able to see all of the universe). But that would be the fish than which no other is bigger. And like I said, not all movement in the universe is the result of gravitational forces. In fact, the lion's share of movement is due to the expansion of the universe from the impetus of the Big Bang; the gravitational forces act largely as modifiers of that initial momentum.

I was thinking, that maybe our universe is inside of a bigger universe.

What do you think?

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

The earth pulls the moon.
The sun pulls the earth.
The galaxy pulls the sun.

What pulls the galaxy?

Other Galaxies.

 

[Mindmaster]

Other Galaxies.

Just waiting for the Andromeda galaxy to eat us. *popcorn*

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Just waiting for the Andromeda galaxy to eat us. *popcorn*

It will effect the galaxy, it won't have much of an effect on individual planets or solar systems

 

[BSM1]

Back in the day, Mr. Browns Towing Service pulled my buddy's Galaxy more than once.

 

[Axe Elf]

"Around four decades ago, astronomers became aware that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was moving through space at a much faster rate than expected.

At 2.2-million kilometres an hour, the speed of the Milky Way through the Cosmos is 2,500 times faster than a cruising airliner; 55 times more than the escape velocity from Earth; and a factor of two greater than even the galaxy’s own escape velocity!

But where this motion comes from is a mystery.

The Big Bang theory of our origin tells us that every point in the universe should be flying apart from every other point. Nevertheless, galaxies on either side of us should be moving at similar recession velocities, which should result in no net motion in the Milky Way’s frame of reference.

Net motion can arise from nearby clumps in the distribution of matter, like a massive cluster of galaxies. The additional gravitational attraction of such a galaxy cluster can slow down, and even reverse, the expansion of the universe in its immediate vicinity.

But no such cluster is obvious in the direction of the Milky Way’s motion. There is an excess of galaxies in the general vicinity, and an excess of radiation visible in X-ray telescopes. But nothing that in any way seems large enough to explain the results.

So are we seeing an over-density of pure dark matter? Or is the current theory of the origin of mass and motion incorrect? Astronomer Alan Dressler, of the Carnegie Institution, used the former explanation, famously dubbing the missing concentration of matter the “Great Attractor”.

But another explanation may lie in the fact that the inferred direction of the missing matter is not too far away from the direction of the Coalsack nebula, which lies deep within our own Milky Way."
source and more

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.​

Hey, thanks for the scientific corroboration! This is a pretty good article too. I think it has some updated information from when that one was written, as that article doesn't seem to be aware of the "pushing" I was talking about from the less-densely populated areas of space, just the pulling from other galaxies that modifies the momentum of the Big Bang.

Milky Way is being pushed and pulled across the universe - CNN

"Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is being pushed across the universe by a large unseen force, according to new research. Although it may not seem like a friendly gesture, the newly discovered Dipole Repeller is actually helping our galaxy on its journey across the expanding universe.

Researchers have known that the galaxy was moving at a relative speed for the past 30 years, but they didn't know why.

'Now we find an emptiness in exactly the opposite direction, which provides a 'push' in the sense of a lack of pull," said Brent Tully, one of the study authors and an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy in Honolulu. "In a tug-of-war, if there are more people at one end, then the flow will be toward them and away from the weaker side.'"

 

[Axe Elf]

I was thinking, that maybe our universe is inside of a bigger universe.

What do you think?

The word "universe" is defined as "all existing matter and space," so it would be impossible for there to be anything outside of the universe for the universe to be inside of.

 

[Subduction Zone]

No, not necessarily. Our galaxy would still be drawn by other galaxies even if it was the biggest galaxy there is. Somewhere, there exists the biggest galaxy in the universe; we just have no way of knowing which one (because we aren't able to see all of the universe). But that would be the fish than which no other is bigger. And like I said, not all movement in the universe is the result of gravitational forces. In fact, the lion's share of movement is due to the expansion of the universe from the impetus of the Big Bang; the gravitational forces act largely as modifiers of that initial momentum.

A small correction. The Big Bang did not impart momentum. It was an expansion of space itself. Think of an expanding balloon with ants on it. The expansion of the an inflating balloon does not impart momentum relative to the balloons surface to an ant standing on top of it. The proper physics terms is "Metric Expansion". Space expanded exponentially at the time of the Big Bang and continues to expand today. One neat thing about an expanding universe is that an object may receded from us faster than the speed of light if it is far enough away. Wikipedia has a nice article on the concept:

Metric expansion of space - Wikipedia

 

[Twilight Hue]

Gravity is prevalent throughout the entire universe. I kind of think of gravity as some sort of "emulsion" for lack of a better term.
I would think Dark Matter plays a role too.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Gravity is prevalent throughout the entire universe. I kind of think of gravity as some sort of "emulsion" for lack of a better term.
I would think Dark Matter plays a role too.

Yes, since Dark Matter is thought to be roughly 85% of the mass of the universe I would think that it would.

 

[Axe Elf]

A small correction. The Big Bang did not impart momentum. It was an expansion of space itself. Think of an expanding balloon with ants on it. The expansion of the an inflating balloon does not impart momentum relative to the balloons surface to an ant standing on top of it. The proper physics terms is "Metric Expansion". Space expanded exponentially at the time of the Big Bang and continues to expand today.

That expansion IS the momentum imparted by the Big Bang. An expanding balloon does not impart momentum to an ant relative to the balloon's surface, but it does impart momentum to one ant relative to another ant on the surface of the balloon. This is what we are talking about here--galaxies carried further and further apart from each other by the expansion of space, which is happening because of the Big Bang.

 

[Subduction Zone]

That expansion IS the momentum imparted by the Big Bang. An expanding balloon does not impart momentum to an ant relative to the balloon's surface, but it does impart momentum to one ant relative to another ant on the surface of the balloon. This is what we are talking about here--galaxies carried further and further apart from each other by the expansion of space, which is happening because of the Big Bang.

I don't think so. But don't trust me, ask a physicist. You might ask Polymath. He does have a Phd in the discipline, I do not. I will make errors at times. Once again, I do not think that the Big Bang imparted any momentum itself. It was an expansion of space, It was not an explosion.

 

[Axe Elf]

I don't think so. But don't trust me, ask a physicist. You might ask Polymath. He does have a Phd in the discipline, I do not. I will make errors at times. Once again, I do not think that the Big Bang imparted any momentum itself. It was an expansion of space, It was not an explosion.

You're not wrong, except that the expansion of space IS momentum. The expansion of space is causing galaxies to move further and further from each other (in general--local variations due to gravity apply).

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Trump's massive ego.