
The largest discovery that changed everything we know is arguably the realization that the universe is expanding, which led to the Big Bang theory. This single discovery reshaped our understanding of cosmic origins and directly addresses the question of "How big is the universe?"
The Expanding Universe and Its Immense Scale
For centuries, it was believed that the universe was static and eternal. However, in the 1920s, observations by astronomers like Edwin Hubble revealed that galaxies are moving away from each other, leading to the groundbreaking conclusion that the universe is expanding. This is arguably The Largest Discovery That Changed Everything We Know, as it implies the universe had a beginning—a hot, dense point that we now call the Big Bang.
This discovery fundamentally changed our perception of the cosmos and naturally leads to the next question: How big is the universe?
Based on the age of the universe (approximately 13.8 billion years) and the constant expansion, scientists have calculated that the observable universe is about 93 billion light-years in diameter. This is the portion of the universe from which light has had time to reach us.
However, the universe as a whole is likely much larger. Since the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light at its edges (a concept allowed by general relativity, as it's the fabric of space itself that's expanding), there are parts of the universe whose light will never reach us. This means we may never know the true, full size of the universe, leaving it as a potentially infinite expanse that grew from the most significant discovery ever made.