Spooky Alignment of Quasars Across Billions of Light-years — Science Release — ESO1438

European Southern Observatory ^ | 19 November 2014

[Swordmaker]

VLT reveals alignments between supermassive black hole axes and large-scale structure

New observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have
revealed alignments over the largest structures ever discovered in the
Universe. A European research team has found that the rotation axes of the
central supermassive black holes in a sample of quasars are parallel to each
other over distances of billions of light-years. The team has also found that
the rotation axes of these quasars tend to be aligned with the vast
structures in the cosmic web in which they reside.
See Full Size Photo

Quasars are galaxies with very active supermassive black holes at their centres. These black holes are surrounded by spinning discs of extremely hot material that is often spewed out in long jets along their axes of rotation. Quasars can shine more brightly than all the stars in the rest of their host galaxies put together.

A team led by Damien Hutsemékers from the University of Liège in Belgium used the FORS instrument on the VLT to study 93 quasars that were known to form huge groupings spread over billions of light-years, seen at a time when the Universe was about one third of its current age.

“The first odd thing we noticed was that some of the quasars’ rotation axes were aligned with each other — despite the fact that these quasars are separated by billions of light-years,” said Hutsemékers.

The team then went further and looked to see if the rotation axes were linked, not just to each other, but also to the structure of the Universe on large scales at that time.

When astronomers look at the distribution of galaxies on scales of billions of light-years they find that they are not evenly distributed. They form a cosmic web of filaments and clumps around huge voids where galaxies are scarce. This intriguing and beautiful arrangement of material is known as large-scale structure.

The new VLT results indicate that the rotation axes of the quasars tend to be parallel to the large-scale structures in which they find themselves. So, if the quasars are in a long filament then the spins of the central black holes will point along the filament. The researchers estimate that the probability that these alignments are simply the result of chance is less than 1%.

“A correlation between the orientation of quasars and the structure they belong to is an important prediction of numerical models of evolution of our Universe. Our data provide the first observational confirmation of this effect, on scales much larger that what had been observed to date for normal galaxies,” adds Dominique Sluse of the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn, Germany and University of Liège.

The team could not see the rotation axes or the jets of the quasars directly. Instead they measured the polarisation of the light from each quasar and, for 19 of them, found a significantly polarised signal. The direction of this polarisation, combined with other information, could be used to deduce the angle of the accretion disc and hence the direction of the spin axis of the quasar.

“The alignments in the new data, on scales even bigger than current predictions from simulations, may be a hint that there is a missing ingredient in our current models of the cosmos,” concludes Dominique Sluse.

[Swordmaker]

The alignments in the new data, on scales even bigger than current predictions from simulations, may be a hint that there is a missing ingredient in our current models of the cosmos,”

[Swordmaker]

European Southern Observatory discovers that found that the rotation axes of the central supermassive black holes in a sample of quasars are parallel to each other over distances of billions of light-years. The team has also found that the rotation axes of these quasars tend to be aligned with the vast structures in the cosmic web in which they reside. "The alignments in the new data, on scales even bigger than current predictions from simulations, may be a hint that there is a missing ingredient in our current models of the cosmos” — Electric Universe Ping!

If you want on or off the Electric Universe Ping List, Freepmail me.

[shibumi]

Could be the Cosmic Faraday Cage.

Or better yet...

It’s the fibrin that holds together the universe like a massive electric blood clot. Annihilation will occur when the host takes its Cosmic Low-Dose Aspirin.

[SpaceBar]

Even on cursory examination of the larger photo linked, it is pretty undeniable that there is a large scale filamentous like structure to the universe. Bubbles of matter, energy, and time that span nearly incomprehensible scales.

[Swordmaker]

It’s the fibrin that holds together the universe like a massive electric blood clot. Annihilation will occur when the host takes its Cosmic Low-Dose Aspirin.

Let's hope He holds of for a few more of His days before He does that.

[sauron]

Shocking. Disturbing. Wondrous. Strange. Interesting.

This will keep us intellectually entertained as to "why?" for the remainder of my lifetime, at least.

Such a wondrous time to be alive, 2014.

[EternalVigilance]

“The alignments in the new data, on scales even bigger than current predictions from simulations, may be a hint that there is a missing ingredient in our current models of the cosmos,” concludes Dominique Sluse.

LOL ... ya think?

[Swordmaker]

It’s the fibrin that holds together the universe like a massive electric blood clot. Annihilation will occur when the host takes its Cosmic Low-Dose Aspirin.

On the other hand, we have to remember we are looking back into time several billion years. . . so He may already be reaching for the Celestial Aspirin Bottle. . . or the capsule is on it's way down the gullet!

[SpaceBar]

Spheres pack in a lowest energy state. I actually would expect no less of the universe to obey some seemingly mundane physical law that manifests as a pattern.

[RandallFlagg]

As long as we all don’t get blowed up before I finish Far Cry 4, I’m good.

;-)

[Swordmaker]

This will keep us intellectually entertained as to "why?" for the remainder of my lifetime, at least.

Nah, next Tuesday, at 4:13, they'll release another press release, which will show up like this one on page G-24, announcing that what they thought was an alignment was a glitch in the tuning of their radio. They'll explain they were actually picking up four different broadcasts of a reflection of "Lost in Space" reruns bouncing off of Alpha Centauri A, B and C, (they'll have no explanation where the fourth reflection came from, just to leave something for the crackpot fringe to worry about) and we will be back to random scattering of axes and galaxies. Can't have anything looking like "order" or "intelligent design" in the Universe, you know.

[PGalt]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Bush’s fault.

[Bullish]

Need I say it?

[dagogo redux]

The shear visual beauty, coupled with the awe of what it represents, is breathtaking. Thanks for posting this.

“The Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.” J. B. S. Haldane, in Possible Worlds and Other Papers (1927).

[biggerten]

The sign at the edge of the universe “This end up.”

[Salamander]

God’s knitting basket.

[x_plus_one]

Spooky action at a distance may be all about us.

http://www.theprinciplemovie.com/

[epluribus_2]

Nah, they these are just hubs and routers of the reeealy big cosmic WiFi network. Just waiting for our zip code to get service.

[epluribus_2]

Sure he was not talking about San Francisco?