Originally Posted by rwedens

I have a question. I have heard some answers to it but I still do not fully understand, so some help would be appreciated. The question: When we look at a galaxy and determine it is, let's say 10 billion light years away, that means the light left that galaxy 10 billion years ago and has taken that long to get to us. If the Big Bang happened (using round numbers) 14 billion years ago, how did a galaxy get 10 billion light years away from us in only 4 billion years? I know it has to do with the expansion phase and the fact that space itself is expanding, not just objects in space, but it still does not make good sense to me. How long was the rapid expansion phase? How far did the early universe expand during that time? And how fast is space expanding now? Thanks in advance for the help. Love your web site and thanks for turning me on to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. That is a great pod cast.

Richard.