| expanding universe [ik¦spand·iŋ `yü·nǝ·vǝrs] ASTROPHYSICS Explanation of the red shift observed in spectral lines from distant galaxies as due to a mutual recession of galaxies away from each other. RELATIVITY A model of the universe describing the process defined in the astronomy definition, in which the universe is nonstatic, homogeneous, and isotropic; based on Einstein's field equations with a nonvanishing cosmical constant. |