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Hole in universe

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Hole in universe
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 6:45 pm
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Astronomers Find Huge Hole in Universe
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By SETH BORENSTEIN,AP


(Aug. 24) - Astronomers have stumbled upon a tremendous hole in the universe. That's got them scratching their heads about what's just not there. The cosmic blank spot has no stray stars, no galaxies, no sucking black holes, not even mysterious dark matter. It is 1 billion light years across of nothing. That's a giant expanse of nearly 6 billion trillion miles of emptiness, a University of Minnesota team announced Thursday.

Astronomers have known for many years that there are patches in the universe where nobody's home. In fact, one such place is practically a neighbor, a mere 2 million light years away. But what the Minnesota team discovered, using two different types of astronomical observations, is a void that's far bigger than scientists ever imagined.

"This is 1,000 times the volume of what we sort of expected to see in terms of a typical void," said Minnesota astronomy professor Lawrence Rudnick, author of the paper that will be published in Astrophysical Journal. "It's not clear that we have the right word yet ... This is too much of a surprise."

Rudnick was examining a sky survey from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which essentially takes radio pictures of a broad expanse of the universe. But one area of the universe had radio pictures indicating there was up to 45 percent less matter in that region, Rudnick said.

The rest of the matter in the radio pictures can be explained as stars and other cosmic structures between here and the void, which is about 5 to 10 billion light years away.

Rudnick then checked observations of cosmic microwave background radiation and found a cold spot. The only explanation, Rudnick said, is it's empty of matter.

It could also be a statistical freak of nature, but that's probably less likely than a giant void, said James Condon, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. He wasn't part of Rudnick's team but is following up on the research.

"It looks like something to be taken seriously," said Brent Tully, a University of Hawaii astronomer who wasn't part of this research but studies the void closer to Earth.

Tully said astronomers may eventually find a few cosmic structures in the void, but it would still be nearly empty.

Holes in the universe probably occur when the gravity from areas with bigger mass pull matter from less dense areas, Tully said. After 13 billion years "they are losing out in the battle to where there are larger concentrations of matter," he said.

Retired NASA astronomer Steve Maran said of the discovery: "This is incredibly important for something where there is nothing to it."

People worrying about *space* that isn't cluttered. :scratch: Weird.

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halplm
Post subject:
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 6:55 pm
b77 whipping boy
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Here's the disturbing part... what if there really is something there... we just can't see it...

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Ara-anna
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 7:50 pm
Daydream Believer
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What if we fall into to the hole?







where's the blue pill when I need it....


:cool:

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TheMary
Post subject:
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:02 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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*jumps into the hole* Wheeeeeeeeeeee! See ya on the other side of the Stargate all :D

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Lay down
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Night is falling
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Why do you weep?
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Soon you will see
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yovargas
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:04 pm
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Bet there's chocolate over there.


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halplm
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:10 pm
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oooh... what kind of chocolate?

oh who cares... last one in has to turn out the lights!...

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ToshoftheWuffingas
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:15 pm
Filthy darwinian hobbit
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Actually there are vast drifts of interstellar alcohol molecules. :cheers:
What I find philosphically puzzling is the sheer lumpiness of the universe. Why has it turned out so uneven?

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halplm
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:22 pm
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maybe it's pancake batter?

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MariaHobbit
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:30 pm
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Some day we'll travel there and find a small notice along the edges, "This space intentionally left blank".

Last edited by MariaHobbit on Wed 29 Aug , 2007 6:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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TheMary
Post subject:
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 8:32 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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Wouldn't that be a trip?! Or this space reserved for Ron L. Hubbard.

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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vison
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 9:28 pm
Best friends forever
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What is empty space? Is it anything? Has anyone answered that question yet? If there's nothing there is there anything there?

Newton said yes, Einstein said no, and I am hopelessly befuddled.

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Dave_LF
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 9:32 pm
You are hearing me talk
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You're all overlooking the obvious explanation: it's a giant alien ship coming to get us. With it's cloaking device on.


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halplm
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Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 10:03 pm
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that's what I was implying ;)

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TheMary
Post subject:
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 10:32 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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The real question is are the aliens aboard friends or foes?

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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halplm
Post subject:
Posted: Mon 27 Aug , 2007 10:37 pm
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depends on if they like us or not... if they do, then friends... if they don't then we're dead.

I choose to believe friendly in that case.

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
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Posted: Tue 28 Aug , 2007 1:27 am
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Maybe it's gods and goddesses . . . nothings.

Or a portal to another dimension, the flan dimension where everything is made of flan and tastes amazing.

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TheMary
Post subject:
Posted: Tue 28 Aug , 2007 4:21 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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Mmmm flan :drool:

Nice to see you TEDdy Baby!!! :D

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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The Watcher
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Posted: Tue 28 Aug , 2007 4:27 am
Same as it ever was
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Why WOULDN'T there be vast regions of space where "nothing" exists? Gravity is pulling all close lying structures towards each other, while when the effects of gravity dissipate, things are actually being propelled away from each other. It makes perfect sense to me...bigger and bigger clusters of "stuff" tending to glom together while if enough distance exists, those globs of stuff for some reason start moving apart.

It sounds to me like we need to figure out what role gravity actually plays in the universe, it i not such a great binding glue after all...

I am more and more convinced of the bubble theory from string theories, in that gravity tends to leak out or leak in accordingly, even though nothing else seems to be able to.

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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Tue 28 Aug , 2007 4:36 am
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MariaHobbit wrote:
Some day we'll travel there and find a small notice along the edges, "This space intentionally left blank".
That's what I had engraved on the back of my iPod.

:D


Lali

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vison
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Posted: Tue 28 Aug , 2007 4:35 pm
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I at last understand why Tommy the Twin, traveling in space, when he returns is younger than Timmy his twin who stayed on Earth.

This is a big step for me.

As for the blank space?

No such thing, really. There is no space, there is no time, there is Spacetime and that's that.

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