Can the Accelerating Universe Exceed the Speed of Light?

If the expansion of the universe is speeding up, and galaxies are moving away from each other at different speeds depending on their relative distance, at some point in time one galaxy must be moving faster than than the speed of light relative to another. How does this fact equate with E=mc2?
- John myers (age 52)
Sweden

Hello John,

Not to worry.   Special relativity still holds in the accelerating universe scenario.  The observable effect that one would see is a gradually increasing red-shift of the light from distant galaxies.   It just gets redder and redder until you just can't see it any more.  As T.S. Eliot said "This is the way the world ends.  Not with a bang but a whimper"

 

LeeH

(published on 12/09/2013)