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LHC will not vaporize the universe in 5 days
In case you're worried that the earth will be destroyed when they switch on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in a few days, you can chillax. You actually have a better chance of spontaneously evaporating while you're having a shave than the likelihood that things will go awry with the LHC. According to a comprehensive report on the project, nature's own cosmic rays produce particle collisions substantially more powerful than the ones to be generated by LHC. We wouldn't exist if they were strong enough to create universe-destroying black holes.
Check out all the sciency bits in this article http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/0809042203... In case you're worried that the earth will be destroyed when they switch on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in a few days, you ... more -
Distant galaxy cluster confirms dark energy
An orbiting observatory has spotted a massive cluster of galaxies in deep space that can only be explained by the exotic phenomenon known as dark energy, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Monday.
Spotted in a scan by ESA's orbiting X-ray telescope XMM-Newton, the cluster's mass is about 1,000 times that of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, it said.
The huge cluster, known by its catalogue number of 2XMM J083026+524133, lies 7.7 billion light-years from Earth and helps confirm the existence of dark energy, the agency said.
Under this hypothesis, most of the universe comprises "dark energy," an enigmatic force that is causing the expansion of the cosmos to accelerate.
The outward drive of dark energy is such that, in more recent times, massive galaxy clusters have lacked the gravitational glue to be able to form.
So the newly-discovered super-cluster can only have been formed earlier in the history of the universe, a notion that is backed by its huge distance from Earth.
"The galaxy cluster is so big that there can only be a handful of them at that distance," said ESA, likening the achievement to finding a "cosmic needle in a haystack."
The observation was made by a team led by Georg Lamer of the Potsdam Astrophysics Institute, eastern Germany, initially using a photon imaging camera aboard the XMM-Newton.
Intrigued by the indicators of scorching gases spewed out by X-ray sources, the astronomers followed up by getting a deep exposure image of the region from a large binocular telescope in the Arizona desert.
"Dark energy" is believed to comprise more than 72 percent of the detected universe and "dark matter" -- heavy particles still waiting to be discovered -- accounts for around 23 percent, according to cosmological theory.
That leaves less than five percent of normal, or baryonic, matter, the category for the protons and neutrons that compose it. An orbiting observatory has spotted a massive cluster of galaxies in deep space that can only be explained by the exotic phenomenon kn... more -
The man with the answer to life, the universe and (nearly) everything
Peter Higgs remembers the day everything suddenly began to make sense. “It was July 16, 1964, when some new research papers arrived. I looked at one, realised what it meant and then jumped up and shouted out loud: ‘Oh shit’.”
For years his colleagues had been working on theories about the building blocks of the universe – and Higgs had disagreed with them all. The trouble was, he’d had no better suggestions.
Now he had an idea and spent the weekend mulling it over. “When I came back to work on Monday, I sat down and wrote a new paper as fast as I could,” he recalled in an interview last week.
“I thought it was very important. I had knocked a hole in the existing theorems and suggested an alternative.”
Higgs got into print in just 11 days but was largely ignored. So he rapidly wrote a second paper. He sent it to an editor at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as Cern, only to have it dismissed as out of hand. “I was indignant,” said Higgs, “but I also thought I was right, so I set to work to spice it up.” He added a final paragraph setting out how his theory predicted the existence of an entirely new type of tiny particle called scalar and vector bosons. To particle physicists, it was revolutionary. Although impenetrable to laymen, such theoretical research has many benefits, if only because it is tested by machines that push science into new realms. The spin-offs from Cern, for example, include the internet, medical scanners and, more recently, new cancer therapies. Peter Higgs remembers the day everything suddenly began to make sense. “It was July 16, 1964, when some new research papers arrived. I... more -
Universe's first star born tiny, grew huge, died young
"The first object to brighten the dark, primordial universe after the Big Bang was the tiny seed of a star that rapidly grew into a behemoth 100 times more massive than the sun, scientists said on Thursday.
This first generation of stars apparently lived hard and died quickly. While our sun may live 5 billion years, this first generation of stars likely lasted only a slim fraction of that -- about 1 million years, the researchers said.
Scientists think the universe was born in a Big Bang explosion 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since. But they have struggled to understand how the first stars formed in the aftermath of this cataclysm.
Japanese and U.S. astronomers ran a sophisticated computer simulation that showed how some of the hydrogen and helium gases strewn throughout the young universe came together to form the first generation of stars.
'If we want to understand how things came about and look the way they do now, we have to go back in time and understand how stars looked when they first began to form,' said Lars Hernquist of Harvard University in Massachusetts.
While none of the stars survive today, their influence remains."
Picture: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/science/space/01stars...
An image from a computer simulation depicting the universe 300 million years after the Big Bang. The first stars blew bubbles of ionized radiation (blue) into the surrounding primordial gas (green). "The first object to brighten the dark, primordial universe after the Big Bang was the tiny seed of a star that rapidly grew into... more -
Dark Matter Found
Evidence of dark matter encountered. Read on.
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Scientists: humans and machines will merge in as little as two decades
From the report: By the 2030s humans will become more non-biological than biological, capable of uploading our minds onto the Internet, living in various virtual worlds and even avoiding aging and evading death.
In the 2040s, [Scientist Ray] Kurzweil predicts non-biological intelligence will be billions of times better than the biological intelligence humans have today, possibly rendering our present brains as obsolete. From the report: By the 2030s humans will become more non-biological than biological, capable of uploading our minds onto the Interne... more -
Scientists Find "Star-Maker" Galaxy
From the report: A newfound starburst galaxy dubbed "Baby Boom"—the green and yellow center of the composite image above—is churning out a startling 4,000 new stars a year, scientists say. Our Milky Way galaxy, by comparison, produces an average of just ten new stars a year. From the report: A newfound starburst galaxy dubbed "Baby Boom"—the green and yellow center of the composite image above—is ... more
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Voyager pictures reveal Solar System is egg-shaped
The Solar System is not round, but an egg shape with its bottom edge squashed inward, according to data beamed back from a three decade old space probe.
The outer limits of the system of planets around our own Sun, where the influence of our local star ends, are being probed by the Voyager spacecraft, which were launched in 1977 on a five year mission to study Jupiter and Saturn.
The two nuclear powered probes continued to speed onwards to the outer Solar System, each flying in slightly different directions, with Voyager 1 becoming the most distant man-made object in space in the 1990s.
Today, in Nature, an analysis of recent data streamed back from the Voyager 2 spacecraft helps build up a picture of how the Sun interacts with the rest of the galaxy. The current mission of both spacecraft is to reach and study the outer limits of the heliosphere - a magnetic 'bubble' around the Solar System created when the particles that stream out from the Sun crash into and hold back the soup of particles in the rest of interstellar space.
When the solar wind senses the edge of the bubble, called the heliopause, located at 7-8.5 billion miles from the Sun, it prepares for the impending collision at the "termination shock", where the solar wind slows down to subsonic speed Prof Edward Stone of Caltech and colleagues report that Voyager 2 crossed this boundary closer to the Sun than expected, suggesting that the heliosphere in the south is dented, or pushed in, closer to the Sun by the interstellar magnetic field.
Voyager 1 passed the termination shock at about 8.7 billion miles from the Sun, while Voyager 2 reached its more southerly edge, sooner than expected, passing the shock at about 7.8 billion miles. This reveals that the heliosphere is squashed inward in the south compared to the north.
Dr Rob Decker of the Johns Hopkins University, one of the team studying Voyager 2 measurements, said: "The squashing is rather small (a 10 percent effect at best), and competing modelling teams are still arguing over details." Dr John Richardson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, who discusses what happens to the energy of the solar wind in another Nature paper, added that the little probes will begin true interstellar travel in another decade.
"We hope the Voyagers will cross the heliopause boundary in about 10 years and be the first spacecraft to measure what is outside of the Sun's heliosphere." The Solar System is not round, but an egg shape with its bottom edge squashed inward, according to data beamed back from a three decad... more -
Astronomers' findings suggest Earth-like planets may be very common
European researchers havediscovered a batch of three "super-Earths" orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well. They said their findings, presented at a conference in France, suggest that Earth-like planets may be very common. European researchers havediscovered a batch of three "super-Earths" orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with... more
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The Milky Way gets a facelift
"Forget what you thought the Milky Way looked like. The galaxy is far from the simple and elegant spiral-armed structure so often portrayed. New observations, presented today at the 212th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in St. Louis, Missouri, reveal, among other things, that the Milky Way is missing two of the four spiral arms it was thought to have. The findings should force a significant rethinking about how the Milky Way evolved and how its stars formed." "Forget what you thought the Milky Way looked like. The galaxy is far from the simple and elegant spiral-armed structure so often... more
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Obama's victory spreads excitement on a global scale!
From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing "WE DID IT!" on the Brits for Barack discussion board on Facebook, people celebrated what they called an important racial and generational milestone for the United States.
"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different." From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing &#... more -
Largest picture of the Milky Way unveiled
"The Milky Way is a large place, and getting all the stars together, even from just the inner galaxy, for a family photo requires a big canvas. The imaging team from the Spitzer Space Telescope today unveiled the largest, highest resolution infrared picture ever taken of the Milky Way. The photo spans 55 meters (180 feet), and takes up almost one entire wall in the huge exhibit hall here at the AAS meeting in St. Louis (above.) The image is made of 800,000 snapshots taken by Spitzer, amassing 39,000 X 6000 pixels, and shows an area of sky 120 degrees longitude by 2 degrees latitude. It provides 100 times better angular resolution than any previous survey and is 100 times more sensitive." "The Milky Way is a large place, and getting all the stars together, even from just the inner galaxy, for a family photo requires... more
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The universe: dark energy still puzzles scientists as it celebrates its 13.7 billi...
Yes, that picture above is a genuine picture of the Universe as a near whole compiled by astronomers data, pictures from Hubble and other data. Its like you were looking at it from yet another Universe, or from trillions of light years away.
Its been described as "bubbles within bubbles", "foam". I look at it and see some mystical, philosophical and religious symbolism.
To me, the Universe picture here is intertwined and connected in some way. One end of the Universe has a connection to the farthest end and so on.
I see butterflies, the true spirit of freedom and metamorphosis within us all. Everything is energy and energy is merely changed into something else when it dies, is burned or destroyed some how. We are made from atoms of stars and other suns and those atoms will move on after our bodies move on. We will all undergo a metamorphosis!
Each circle representing the 'foreverness', the never ending cycle of life. Eternity. Our atoms will live way beyond our physical life and be part of something else. Our conscious is made up of energy, energy that never dies. Our conscious will live on in another dimension, possibly a better one than this one, or a worse one...depending on the life you lived here.
I also see "Trinities" of circles. Three circles that stand out among the others in various areas. Life is also a trinity. We are born to live, we die and we are all transformed.
I see flowers, flowers that bloom in the spring to make the world we live in more colorful and more beautiful. Flowers mixed with the Butterflies!
Most of all, I see in this picture of the Universe, this picture of "Everything"...I see unity, harmony, and a design that could only be constructed by someone who is full of love. This Higher Power put this here for us to see, for if we were not here to see the Universe, would the Universe exists considering we are part of this grand scheme?
If we are supposed to have been created by a Creator that made us in His own image, then who are these people on this planet that love war, love hate, love lies, loves money? I believe they too have the power to love love and to bring peace in the world. They only need to get beyond the greed and hunger for power to become part of the whole.
When you read this linked article, you will see what man has done to try to explain our Universe, try to come up with a "Theory for Everything" in one breath. It's actually alot simpler than it looks. The theory for everything is that, well, we are everything!
I propose a birthday anniversary for the Universe. A yearly anniversary that celebrates the fact that we are all connected and are all the same. And that Love built this house we all live in.
Happy Birthday Universe!
peace,
louie Yes, that picture above is a genuine picture of the Universe as a near whole compiled by astronomers data, pictures from Hubble and ot... more -
NASA drawing up plans to put man on Mars
"NASA and other space agencies are already drawing up plans for a voyage that will present astronauts not only with physical but also psychological challenges never faced by humans before.
'When you go to Mars, all bets are off," said Dr. Nick Kanas, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied astronaut psychology. "We don't know what is going to happen.'" "NASA and other space agencies are already drawing up plans for a voyage that will present astronauts not only with physical but ... more -
Cosmos may be 'teeming with alien worlds'
"Estimates of the number of alien planet in the universe have soared once again with the discovery of the smallest world orbiting another star.
The tiniest known planet orbiting an undersized star is reported today by an international team, raising estimates of the overall numbers - and thus the overall possibility that one could host life - and bringing astronomers closer to the goal of finding Earth's sister worlds.
Artist's impression of the newly discovered planet MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb orbiting a brown dwarf 'star'
The newly found object, which could have a warm ocean under a freezing atmosphere, is reported by an international team of astronomers led by Prof David Bennett of the University of Notre Dame.
The so called extra-solar planet is about three times the mass of our own Earth and is orbiting a star with a mass so low that its core is at the borderline of being massive enough to maintain the nuclear reactions that enable it to shine.
The American Astronomical Society will be told today that the planet, referred to as MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, establishes a new record for the lowest mass planet to orbit a normal star. The star, MOA-2007-BLG-192L, is at a distance of 3000 light years and the lightest to have a companion.
The mass of the host is about six per cent of the mass of our own Sun. Such a star is called a brown dwarf, because this is on the borderline of having the mass needed to sustain nuclear reactions.
'Even the lowest mass stars can host planets' says Prof Bennett. No planets have previously been found to orbit stars with masses less than about 20 per cent of that of the Sun. " "Estimates of the number of alien planet in the universe have soared once again with the discovery of the smallest world orbiting... more -
Is it OK if we contaminate the universe?
"A recent paper by Professor Cockell of the Open University points out that the flow of life is more likely to be FROM the vast dirty ball teeming with billions of organisms TO the utterly dead space rocks. Who could have guessed?
The idea is that hardy hitchhikers on our interplanetary probes could face alien ecosystems with "The Earth Strain", and they won't even have a rugged team of determined scientists to find a cure. Never mind that anything capable of surviving extended exposure to cosmic rays would have to be King Hardcore of the microorganic kingdom." "A recent paper by Professor Cockell of the Open University points out that the flow of life is more likely to be FROM the vast d... more -
NASA hiding fact that Mars has Blue Skies like Earth!
The woman interviewing a project engineer eventually asked, "Will we be seeing color images?" The answer was "Yes indeed, we will be seeing color images [short pause here in his voice] in the future." But she never asked why these images today were in black and white today. Technically, there is NO reason for these live images to not be in color except for one major reason - people will realize that Mars isn't red after all, but it has a blue sky almost identical to that of Earth (which I proved with NASA images in my book.) Color image information is being sent to Earth right now, and there is no real reason whatsoever not to show these historic, polar images from Mars in black and white. Perhaps that's was "processing" does to Mars images - it alters them look so they will look like what NASA thinks the public expects to see. The woman interviewing a project engineer eventually asked, "Will we be seeing color images?" The answer was "Yes indee... more
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Space euphoria: do our brains change when we travel in Outer Space?
In February, 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell experienced the little understood phenomenon sometimes called the “Overview Effect”. He describes being completely engulfed by a profound sense of universal connectedness. Without warning, he says, a feeing of bliss, timelessness, and connectedness began to overwhelm him. He describes becoming instantly and profoundly aware that each of his constituent atoms were connected to the fragile planet he saw in the window and to every other atom in the Universe. He described experiencing an intense awareness that Earth, with its humans, other animal species, and systems were all one synergistic whole. He says the feeling that rushed over him was a sense of interconnected euphoria. He was not the first—nor the last—to experience this strange “cosmic connection”.
Tell us of your dreams of traveling in space and what that means to you. In February, 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell experienced the little understood phenomenon sometimes called the “Overview Effe... more -
Does time run backwards in other universes?
"One of the most basic facts of life is that the future looks different from the past. But on a grand cosmological scale, they may look the same" "One of the most basic facts of life is that the future looks different from the past. But on a grand cosmological scale, they ma... more
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Universe
