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Mysterious 'supervoid' in space is largest object ever discovered, scientists claim
www.telegraph.co.u ^ | 7:09PM BST 20 Apr 2015 | By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

Posted on 04/20/2015 1:25:31 PM PDT by Red Badger

A supervoid has been discovered in the universe which is too big to fit into current models

Astronomers have discovered a curious empty section of space which is missing around 10,000 galaxies.

The ‘supervoid’, which is 1.8 billion light-years across, is the largest known structure ever discovered in the universe but scientists are baffled about what it is and why it is so barren.

It sits in a region of space which is much colder than other parts of the universe and although it is not a vacuum, it seems to have around 20 per cent less matter than other regions.

Although the Big Bang theory allows for areas that are cooler and hotter, the size of the void does not fit with predicted models. Simply put, it is too big to exist.

István Szapudi, of University of Hawaii at Manoa, described the object as possibly “the largest individual structure ever identified by humanity”.

It was picked up using Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) telescope located on Haleakala, Maui, and Nasa’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite.

The latest study suggests that the ‘supervoid’ may be draining energy from light travelling through, which is why the area around it is so cold.

Getting through such a big hole takes hundreds of millions of years, even at the speed of light, and photons of light slow down as they cross because the universe – and therefore the void - is continually expanding.

However the scientists claim that the void can only account for around 10 per cent the temperature drop in the cold spot.

“It just pushed the explanation one layer deeper,” said Dr Roberto Trotta, a cosmologist at Imperial College London.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Education; Outdoors; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; blackhole; space; stringtheory; supervoid; xplanets
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To: Red Badger
"Mysterious 'supervoid' in space is largest object ever discovered, scientists claim"


61 posted on 04/20/2015 2:17:38 PM PDT by clearcarbon
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To: sten

62 posted on 04/20/2015 2:23:25 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Red Badger

Okay, we’re going to turn off the lights for 30 seconds and whoever stole that missing void please but it back....


63 posted on 04/20/2015 2:23:31 PM PDT by jmacusa (Liberalism defined: When mom and dad go away for the weekend and the kids are in charge.)
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To: Red Badger

64 posted on 04/20/2015 2:28:06 PM PDT by outofsalt ( If history teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything.)
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To: Sirius Lee

They stole Earth that one time.


65 posted on 04/20/2015 2:32:04 PM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: rjsimmon
I think that the definition of "structure" would include being different than the surrounding regions of the universe. struc·ture ˈstrək(t)SHər/ noun 1. the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex. "flint is extremely hard, like diamond, which has a similar structure" synonyms: construction, form, formation, shape, composition, anatomy, makeup, constitution;
66 posted on 04/20/2015 2:33:25 PM PDT by JimSEA
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To: Red Badger

I’d be on the lookout for a massive Dyson sphere.


67 posted on 04/20/2015 2:43:56 PM PDT by MeganC (You can ignore reality, but reality won't ignore you.)
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To: Publius

It was Voyager when they crossed a void and the crew all went into hibernation except for 7of9 and the weird hamster looking guy.


68 posted on 04/20/2015 2:46:16 PM PDT by MeganC (You can ignore reality, but reality won't ignore you.)
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To: Red Badger
"A supervoid has been discovered in the universe which is too big to fit into current models " Get a bigger car.
69 posted on 04/20/2015 2:47:31 PM PDT by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: Red Badger

They had a Hadron Supercollider too at one time. At one time.


70 posted on 04/20/2015 2:47:47 PM PDT by 762X51
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To: 762X51

Last words from their scientists were: Uh-OH!................


71 posted on 04/20/2015 2:50:14 PM PDT by Red Badger (Man builds a ship in a bottle. God builds a universe in the palm of His hand.............)
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To: Red Badger

How can nothing be an object?


72 posted on 04/20/2015 2:56:20 PM PDT by WKUHilltopper (And yet...we continue to tolerate this crap...)
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To: Red Badger

If it’s a void it’s not an object.


73 posted on 04/20/2015 3:04:15 PM PDT by I want the USA back (Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country.)
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To: Red Badger

“it is too big to exist”
Wrong. The theories that don’t account for it are wrong and need to be changed.


74 posted on 04/20/2015 3:06:30 PM PDT by I want the USA back (Media: completely irresponsible. Complicit in the destruction of this country.)
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To: DannyTN

i was thinking of something that would be fairly large and fairly close... circular in shape from our point of view


75 posted on 04/20/2015 3:07:35 PM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: Red Badger

My God, it’s not full of stars!


76 posted on 04/20/2015 3:17:39 PM PDT by WhatWouldReaganDo
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To: Red Badger

Hillary’s hard drive?


77 posted on 04/20/2015 3:23:54 PM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: Red Badger
Getting through such a big hole takes hundreds of millions of years, even at the speed of light, and photons of light slow down as they cross because the universe – and therefore the void - is continually expanding.

LOL! If it's 1.8 billion light-years across, it should take 1.8 billion years for light to cross it.

78 posted on 04/20/2015 3:25:39 PM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: Red Badger

This hole is exactly the right size and shouldn’t get any bigger or smaller. If there is any measurable change, it will be necessary to implement a massive redistributive tax and other policies that just happen to coincide with the left’s political agenda.


79 posted on 04/20/2015 3:27:23 PM PDT by Yardstick
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To: Red Badger
Astronomers have discovered a curious empty section of space which is missing around 10,000 galaxies. My emphasis.

So, first, it's an empty section of space but then it's also a ......it seems to have around 20 per cent less matter than other regions.

Can the two conditions coexist or am I just not sufficiently educated in astronomy?

80 posted on 04/20/2015 3:55:27 PM PDT by varon (Para bellum)
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