Looking into the sky on a starlit night you cannot help but wonder: does the universe ever come to an end? If you stop and think about it, you soon realize that an end or “boundary” would present a problem. Most people would immediately ask what was on the other side. The alternative, namely that there is no end, is just as problematic, however. It means that the universe goes on forever—to infinity. And scientists don’t like infinities; most feel that in using them we are really just sweeping dust under the rug.

The search for the end of the universe has led to a variety of theories, but the most popular one is that the universe has a finite end, or a boundary, and that it is expanding at a constant rate.

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Searching for the Ends of the Universe

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