--- title: "Physicist: Our Galaxy May Be Located Inside an Enormous Bubble" description: "A mind-bending new paper suggests that our entire galaxy could be located inside an enormous bubble where matter is much less dense than everywhere else." date: "2020-03-12" modified: "2020-03-12" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/physicist-galaxy-inside-enormous-bubble" categories: - "Physics" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "astrophysics" - "physics" - "the digest" - "universe" --- # Physicist: Our Galaxy May Be Located Inside an Enormous Bubble ![The universe might be one big giant bubble.]() *\Image: Manfred Antranias Zimmer/Futurism\* ## Bubble Bath A mind-bending new paper suggests our entire Milky Way galaxy could be [located inside an enormous bubble]() where matter is much less dense than everywhere else. If research bears the theory out, it'd mean that our galactic neighborhood is very different from the rest of the universe — and it could potentially solve a huge problem looming over the astrophysics field. ## Double Check The theory — outlined by University of Geneva physicist Lucas Lombriser [in the journal]() *Physics Letters B —* is an attempt to reconcile a serious issue in contemporary physics: the fact that physicists [get two different answers]() depending on how they calculate the universe's rate of expansion. Basically, if they crunch numbers based on cosmic background radiation, they get a rate of expansion about 10 percent smaller than if they look at data from distant supernovas. ## My Density Lombriser's solution is to propose that our entire galaxy, as well as several thousand of the closest ones, are located in a bubble where there's simply less matter — stars, gas clouds, you name it — per unit of volume. A bubble that's 250 million light-years across, Lombriser says, and which contains about half the density of the rest of the universe, would reconcile the two rates of expansion. Of course, this is just a theory. And Geneva's exuberant press release title — "Solved: The mystery of the expansion of the universe" — could spark a fight with Lombriser's peers. *Editor's note 3/12/2020: This post incorrectly stated the width of Lombriser's hypothetical bubble. It has been updated.* **READ MORE:** [Solved: The mystery of the expansion of the universe]() \[*Phys.org*\] **More on the universe:** [*New Hubble Data Breaks Scientists’ Understanding of the Universe*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()