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Redshift, sometimes spelled as red shift, refers to a modification in light wavelengths caused by objects moving away from each other. This phenomenon is the electromagnetic equivalent of the Doppler effect, which is associated with sound. A well-known example of the Doppler effect is the change in pitch of the sound produced by a passing train or car. As the vehicle approaches, passes by, and moves away, the pitch of the sound appears to increase as it nears and decrease as it moves away.
In terms of electromagnetic waves, the decrease in frequency as a light source moves away is known as redshift. The term originates from the fact that lower-frequency, longer-wavelength signals fall within the red/infrared spectrum, while higher-frequency, shorter-wavelength signals are in the blue/ultraviolet spectrum. When a light source moves towards an observer, the observer perceives blueshift as the frequency rises and the wavelength shortens.
The presence of redshift in nature provides unique support for the description of creation in the Bible. Edwin Hubble, a renowned astronomer, is known for two particularly intriguing observations, both related to redshift. Firstly, regardless of the direction we look, stars and galaxies all seem to be moving away from us. Secondly, the farther a star or galaxy is, the faster it appears to be receding. These observations collectively indicate that the entire universe is expanding—everything is essentially moving “outward.”
Hubble’s observations, in conjunction with the contributions of individuals like Albert Einstein, Georges Lemaître, Arno Penzias, and Robert Wilson, introduced a profound concept. The universe is continuously expanding as time progresses; thus, when we look back in time, the universe would have been contracting continuously. At a certain point in the past, all matter and energy in the universe would have been condensed into a single, infinitely small point. This concept is now part of what is commonly referred to as the big bang.In theory, these amalgamated concepts directly oppose atheistic beliefs that the universe was eternal, collapsing, or cyclical.
This renders redshift a crucial empirical evidence that the universe was created. Consistent with scriptural declarations like Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20, the more we observe and comprehend about the universe, the more distinctly we perceive that it was deliberately “begun” just as the Bible states in Genesis 1:1.
