Posted on 04/17/2008 7:54:44 AM PDT by rosenfan
A telescope on the far side of the moon could probe the "dark ages" of the universe while blocking out the radio-wavelength noise of Earth civilizations.
Up to one hundred thousand antennas would form the Dark Ages Lunar Interferometer (DALI), the largest telescope ever built, and allow astronomers to hear faint whispering signals from a time when no stars even existed.
"This will look at one of the most fundamental questions ever conceived, back when the universe was made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium — no stars, no galaxies," said Kurt Weiler, senior astronomer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
The so-called dark ages of astronomy describe a half-billion year period following the Big Bang when clouds of ionized gas cooled as the universe expanded. The only faint noise came from hydrogen atoms doing spin-flips, which gives off radio-wavelength signals that astronomers can pick up on. Scientists currently estimate that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old.
"What happens is that because of the Big Bang there's a background glow," Weiler noted. "The spin-flip will absorb the glow of the older material and will give us a signature that we can see."
However, the ongoing expansion of the universe has stretched or red-shifted the hydrogen signature from just 21 centimeters to several meters. That means the signals can easily get masked by louder Earth transmissions in the same wavelength, unless astronomers find a quieter listening spot.
"The back side of the moon is the only place in the local universe shielded from manmade transmissions," Weiler told SPACE.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
John Kerry basking in the glow of Hillary Clinton?
A little Pink Floyd music please.
Does sound like a pretty good idea,though
with a future of about 100 yrs from now.
DALIing on the dark side of the moon.
They could make a bigger telescope by linking one on the moon with one on earth. They have already made one much bigger than any lunar telescope can be by linking Aricebo and Green Bank.
The “Big Bang” is now dogma in scientific circles. That’s why I seriously question it.
Continental drift and the theory of relativity are also overwhelmingly supported by scientific evidence...do you seriously question those as well?
And the alternative theory is???
I think the Big Bang Theory has a pretty impressive history of making verifiable predictions that were proven true. This is the test of any scientific explanation of the true causes of things. If there is a better theory then cough it up. I don't think there is.
I agree with you. The Big Bang theory is plausible.
But it takes just as much faith to believe in it as it would to simply believe in Intelligent Design.
I’ll hedge. I think God created the universe with the Big Bang.
I kinda like your theory.
Wonder how wise it is to be broadcasting all over
the universe theres life here.
Maybe read too much SF.
You hadn`t heard about the new Russian inflatable shield?
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On another note, you might feel at home on this thread.
On a second note, DIRECT as opposed to Ares I and V would make this not only plausible but possible.
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