Galaxies are receding from each other

Isn’t this true of ANY explosive event (say a large firecracker in a closed room) – things will appear to recede from each other?

Yes – that’s true. But there’s one key difference in the way galaxies recede from each other.

It doesn’t matter WHERE your observation deck is – the recession is exactly the same. This would not be true for a firecracker explosion in a closed room. Only the exact explosion point would show everything receding. If you watched from outside the room, you would actually see things APPROACHING you – NOT receding from you.

So, how is it possible that NO MATTER where you are situated, the recession seems uniform?

The Surface of a Balloon

The best analogy to date is to imagine the surface of a balloon as it blows up. As it blows up, EVERY point on the surface recedes from every other point. It does not matter where you are situated on the balloon.

Space IS the surface

People state this metaphor as ‘Space is LIKE the surface of the balloon…’. In reality, space IS the surface. There is no other part of the Universe (nothing INSIDE the balloon or outside the surface).