>SNIP
>>>Here's what I don't 'get'...
>>>
>>>If the big bang happened 15 billion years ago and they are seeing light that is 14 billion years ago, shouldn't they expect to see MORE things there (rather than less) simply because 14 billion years ago things were far more compressed than they are now (compressed in the sense that 14 billion years ago is far far CLOSER to the CENTRE of the big bang and so things were all much closer together).
>>>
>>>Also, based on the trajectories of some of these expanding bodies, shouldn't they be able to zero in directly on the big bang itself?
>>>
>>>I think I must be missing something in this logic. What is it?
>>
>>OK, you forced me to think about it, so I'll take a stab, but I'm no expert. The fact that we're seeing something that happened 14 billion years ago does not imply that it was spacially closer to the center of the big bang. These things are moving so fast that they were already further from the center 14 billion years ago than we are now. One isn't necessarily looking inward when viewing these ancient objects. We're slow-pokes, lingering around somewhere comparatively near the point of origin, so far from the edge that we can't measure the anisotropy. Things that are moving near the speed of light had a serious head start on us. The instantaneous flash of first light can not be what astronomers are seeing, because that is only detectable at the outermost edge.
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>Mike,
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>I think I can contrive a situation now that fits...
>First, the light of the big bang could really only be available to us if it continued for a very long time after its first spark. If it happened rather quickly we would have been IN that light at that time and by now it would easily have passed us (given that we're moving much more slowly by now). So it is irretrievable to us. (I wonder if it can come around so we can view it as it come back at us?)
>That the observed galaxies are 14 billion light years from us is handily explained by their moving fast. I suppose its possible that they are moving more slowly but in the (near) opposite direction to us. They are 14 billion light years from us but 15 billion light years from the big bang (location) and each of those are of necessity in different directions from us.
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>There are still lots of things that are very hard to get one's mind around, but I'm happy for the moment.
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>Thanks
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>>Mike

Glad to have made you happy, Jim. I always found this to be perplexing, but you inspired me to think about it. Somehow I feel better, too. Now let's hope someone doesn't come along and throw us back into our previous sense of total confusion on the subject.

Mike