Posted on 10/15/2016 2:43:17 PM PDT by LibWhacker
A new study from a team of international astronomers, led by astrophysicists from the University of Nottingham with support from the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), has produced some astounding results: The universe contains at least two trillion galaxies, 10 times more than the highest previous estimates. What's more, the new study suggests that 90 percent of all galaxies are hidden from us, and only the remaining 10 percent can be seen at all, even with our most powerful telescopes. The paper detailing the study was published today in the Astrophysical Journal.
"We are missing the vast majority of galaxies because they are very faint and far away," said Nottingham Astrophysics Professor Christopher Conselice in an RAS press release. "The number of galaxies in the universe is a fundamental question in astronomy, and it boggles the mind that over 90 percent of the galaxies in the cosmos have yet to be studied. Who knows what interesting properties we will find when we study these galaxies with the next generation of telescopes?"
For two decades, astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Deep Field images to try to estimate the number of galaxies in the observable universe. The previous estimate was 100 to 200 billion, and now we believe that huge number was too small by a factor of 10 or 20, depending on where your original estimate falls.
It is no easy task to count the galaxies in the entire universe. For one thing, as previously mentioned, we cannot see the vast majority of galaxies with our telescopes because they are too far or too faint or both. For another, the farther away we peer with the HST, the smaller the area of the sky we are observing is—Hubble Deep Field images cover about one millionth of the total area of the sky. This animation shows just how small an area a Deep Field image covers.
The results in the new study are the culmination of 15 years of work. An initial grant from the RAS allowed undergraduate student Aaron Wilkinson, now a phD student at Nottingham University, to perform initial galaxy-counting analysis work that laid the foundation for the larger study.
Professor Conselice, in partnerships with researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Leiden University in the Netherlands, used Wilkinson's work and data from telescopes around the world, particularly Hubble, to create 3D maps of different parts of the universe. Mathematical analysis of the models using the calculated density of the galaxies and the volume for each mapped region of space allowed the researchers to deduce how many galaxies we are missing in our observations, and in turn, how many there are in total spread across the universe.
In addition to pinning down a total number, the study analyzed the number of galaxies that were present in the distant past compared to the number of galaxies that exist now. By peering 13 billion light-years into the past, shortly after the Big Bang, the researchers found that there were 10 times more galaxies in the ancient universe than there are now (most of which were small, about the size of the satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way).
"This is very surprising as we know that, over the 13.7 billion years of cosmic evolution since the Big Bang, galaxies have been growing through star formation and mergers with other galaxies. Finding more galaxies in the past implies that significant evolution must have occurred to reduce their number through extensive merging of systems."
That "significant evolution" is the continuous merging of smaller galaxies into the larger ones we see today, and the new model could help researchers piece together the formation story of the modern universe with greater accuracy than ever before.
The sheer difference in the number of galaxies has far-reaching implications as well. Probabilistic equations that estimate the number of hypothetical alien civilizations, such as the Drake Equation, will need to be modified to account for the dramatic increase in the number of estimated galaxies out there—which makes it even more astronomically unlikely that we are alone among intelligent species.
In the face of such an expansive universe, it is easy to feel both awe and a sense of insignificance here on Earth. It is reminiscent of Carl Sagan's thoughts on the Pale Blue Dot image, a photo taken of Earth by Voyager 1 from a distance of 6 billion kilometers, almost as far as Pluto.
"It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."
>And to think this all came from a “singularity. Oh, come on...
Considering there is an infinite supply of singularities, anything can happen.
>Your perception of the “universe” is a product of centuries of brainwashing, and more recently, propaganda from the likes of NASA and their CGI artists.
The distant space and mass may be a CGI, but humans did not create it. The earth is not flat either.
If 90% of the galaxies are allegedly hidden from us, then we really don’t know how much is hidden. Pure speculation. Is it 90% or 99.9999%? If the universe is infinite, then why not the number of galaxies?
I should receive a scientific grant for revealing these insights; they are just as valid as anyone else’s. Prove me wrong.
bkmk
Not even good guessing is there when they say 100 to 200 million then update by saying 10 to 20 times more then estimated....
In 20 years, they will find 20 trillion other universes
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No, since universe means everything, you cannot have 20 trillion “everythings”.
That's so 1980's.
I recently saw a show that said that it now looks like, instead of slowing down, the universe is speeding up in its expansion. Golly gee Mr. Wizard....instead of collapsing, we're going to burst.
Only because we were created by Intelligent design - after that the "intelligence" factor becomes irrelevant.
“No, since universe means everything, you cannot have 20 trillion “everythings”.”
Such an early 21st century mentality. Just because the universe has everything in this physical reality, it doesn’t mean that the universe contains all physical realities from everywhere.
A bit snarky this morning huh?
the universe : all of space and everything in it including stars, planets, galaxies, etc.
We can find new things (new to us), that simply adds to the universe we already know.
God bless you, I’m on my way to church now.
“But we’re the only intelligent life. /s”
I have had Freepers say that to me with a completely straight face.
What can you do, but just shake your head?
#69 It is Universal expansion.
Raising taxes will stop this!
I have a theory that all intelligent biological life invents artificial intelligence, which, untethered, kills them. Some of them kill accidentally, some on purpose. We are never contacted because AI has no interest in unintelligent ant colonies.
What if space is circular and everything expanding means everything is contracting.
No, since universe means everything, you cannot have 20 trillion “everythings”.
“No, since universe means everything, you cannot have 20 trillion “everythings”.”
Until Hubble observed external Galaxies, the ‘Universe’ was only our Milkyway Galaxy. Now, there apparently trillions of them. The point is that the concept of Universe is not a constant. The next thing you know, there is a universal constant for each physical reality. You’re welcome.
“I have a theory that all intelligent biological life invents artificial intelligence, which, untethered, kills them.”
It’s a plausible theory. Lord knows, we seem to be racing in that direction ourselves.
Another theory is that, intelligent species eventually figure out how to evolve from purely biological bodies, into machine bodies.
Or its one of the greatest acts of Love.
Hadn't thought of it - that's why we need sharp legal minds here.
Love it.
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