Stupid(?) question from a extreme layperson

[Dorian Gray]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20091224/sc_space/fluffymysteryatedgeofsolarsystemsolved
THat link shows that the two Voyagers have discovered something called a Fluffy ... just look at it. The Sun has a magnetic Heliosphere. Magnets have poles.
1) Do you suppose the Galaxy has a Galaxsphere around it? Or all galaxies?
2) If that is true, and magnets have poles, could some alignment of galaxies into some sort of grid pattern be gradually establishing itself? Or at the very least, could the repelling poles be the reason galaxies are moving away from each other, and not dark matter?

Yeah, this is pretty stupid.

[KingMerv00]

1) Do you suppose the Galaxy has a Galaxsphere around it? Or all galaxies?

Yes. In fact, I think it has been proven (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382567/Milky-Way-Galaxy/68101/Magnetic-field). Phil mentioned it in "Death from the Skies" I believe.


2) If that is true, and magnets have poles, could some alignment of galaxies into some sort of grid pattern be gradually establishing itself? Or at the very least, could the repelling poles be the reason galaxies are moving away from each other...

The link above says the field is far too weak and outer space is way too big. It also would explain why more distant galaxies are moving away faster than nearby ones.


...and not dark matter?

Galaxies are moving away because of the expansion of space itself, not because of dark matter.

Yeah, this is pretty stupid.

Oh stop. Normal people shouldn't know this stuff. We are the weird ones.

[Richard S]

No it's not a stupid question at all.

The question of exactly where the outer boundaries of our solar system lie is actually kind of complicated to answer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud

As far as the Milky Way Galaxy is concerned, we're still learning new things about it. There is a body of speculation surrounding the question of how galaxies form and if there is any order to it.

Even Carl Sagan weighed in on this question.

http://www.cosmolearning.com/documentaries/cosmos/16/

Forward to about the 57:00 minute mark.