Would the sky be as dark as it is today if the universe were infinite and had an infinite number of stars?

The universe may very well be infinite, or effectively so, with an infinite number of stars. The key is whether the universe has been around very long or not. Since it is only 10 - 15 billion years old, not enough time has elapsed for the light from all these stars to reach us yet. If the universe had an infinite past age, then the night sky would indeed be very bright.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
Return to Ask the Astronomer.