“Big Bang Busted”
Image by ESA/ATG medialab: An artist’s impression of the James Webb Space Telescope
By Scott Hamilton
A long standing scientific theory on the origins of the universe was busted recently from discoveries made by the James Webb telescope. Nearly everyone has been taught the Big Bang Theory as the primary explanation for the origin of the universe. However Professor Lior Shamir’s recent study has challenged the theory. He believes we have been viewing the universe through an imperfect lens.
Shamir’s research supports a nearly century-old theory, the “tired light” theory. The tired light theory offers a very different perspective on the expansion of the universe. In fact it states that the universe is not expanding. In the 1920s Edwin Hubble and George Lemaitre noticed that galaxies that are further away from Earth appeared to be moving away from Earth faster than those closer to Earth. This led to the idea of the Big Bang Theory, suggesting that the universe began 13 billion years ago from a single point and is still expanding.
At the same time Fritz Zwicky came up with a different theory, which is not well taught or even mentioned in most astronomy courses. He proposed that the shift in the light spectrum in the distant galaxies was not because they were speeding away, but that the light photons from these galaxies were losing energy, or “tiring out” as they traveled through space. The loss of energy would make the distant objects appear to be moving away from us faster than they are.
Shamir says, “The tired light theory was largely neglected, as astronomers adopted the Big Bang theory as the consensus model of the universe. But the confidence of some astronomers in the Big Bang theory started to weaken when the powerful James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) saw first light.”
The general scientific community expected the first images from JWST to show an infant universe. They expected to see light from millions of years ago, but instead they saw large and mature galaxies. According to Shamir if the Big Bang happened as initially believed these distant galaxies are older than the universe itself. This unexpected discovery has led to a renewed interest in alternative theories, including the “tired light” concept. Shamir believes our understanding of the universe’s expansion is based on assumptions that might need revisiting.
Shamir’s study shows that galaxies rotating in the opposite direction relative to the Milky Way have lower red-shift compared to galaxies rotating in the same direction. This difference reflects the motion of Earth as it rotates with the Milky Way. This rotation is constant, so does not contribute to the change related to the distance from Earth. In essence, it shows exactly what Zwicky predicted in his Tired Light theory.
While Shamir’s work does not directly disprove the Big Bang theory, it does suggest that we need to reevaluate the foundational premises of the theory. Otherwise we should not see galaxies that appear older than the universe itself. Shamir’s work suggests that we should begin to question our established models and look beyond their long-held assumptions. These apparently incorrect assumptions have shaped astronomy research for decades. While the “tired light” theory isn’t close to replacing the Big Bang in mainstream science, it is becoming more and more clear that our understanding of the cosmos is still a work in progress. If you are interested in reading Shamir’s full paper you can find it at https://www.mdpi.com/2571-712X/7/3/41, published by Particles.
Until next week, stay safe and learn something new.
Scott Hamilton is an Expert in Emerging Technologies at ATOS and can be reached with questions and comments via email to sh*******@te**********.org or through his website at https://www.techshepherd.org.
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