Potential Dark Matter Discovery a Win for Space Station Science

AccuWeather ^ | 4/4/13

[driftdiver]

That image freaks me out.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Are they sure it wasn't faulty data caused by one of their colleagues turning the toaster oven on and off?

[Born to Conserve]

“That image freaks me out.”

I remember being freaked out by the telephoto shots of pitchers and batters taken from center field when they first aired back in the sixties. The batters were further away than the pitchers, but looked bigger.

The galaxies look close together, but really aren’t as close together as they look.

[2nd Amendment]

Was it found over Washington D.C.?

[COBOL2Java]

One of the leading explanations for dark matter is that it is made up of particles called WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles), which may produce a detectable signature when they collide and annihilate each other. This happens because WIMPs are thought to be their own antimatter partner particles. When matter and antimatter meet, they destroy each other, so if two WIMPs were to make contact, they would obliterate one another.

WIMPs are Liberals in a postapocalyptic world!

[driftdiver]

I think thats part of what freaks me out. Those are freekin galaxies!!

[GraceG]

I think thats part of what freaks me out. Those are freekin galaxies!!

Even if only 1 in a 1000 galaxies has ONE planet that has intelligent life at our level that would mean there is still a LOT of intelligent life out there....

They actually think based off of curent theories that there is AT LEAST the possiblitiy that there are at least 1,000 planets per galaxy that have on them what we would consider inteligent life on them....

That means that the universe could be teaming with intelligent life, well except maybe the liberals on our own planet.

[stormhill]

Hoping to live long enough to hear the physicists admit they screwed up and that the extra gravity in the universe can be explained by the fact they grossly underestimated the mass of the black hole at the heart of EVERY galaxy.

What’s really annoying is that they speak of dark matter as if it’s a fact rather than an unproven theory with no real evidence to back it up. It’s the Global Warming of Astrophysics

[equaviator]

The Detroit Tigers had the potential to be MLB’s 2012 World Champions last year but they did NOT win. Not even once.

[Yossarian]

Actually, I believe a simple inspection of the rate of rotation of the outer parts of the arms of a galaxy compared to the inner parts of the arms indicates that there is something heavily unexplained in our understanding of matter and its distribution.

"Dark Matter" and "Dark Energy" are simply terms to label what is currently misunderstood in our limited understanding of physics. It doesn't mean those term are invented out of a need for prevarication.

[albionin]

Here is something to think about. If the Universe is infinite as some say then even if a planet like ours with life is exceedingly rare, there have to be an infinite number of them and also an infinite number that don’t have life.

[stormhill]

Maybe so.
Nevertheless if 80% of the universe is composed of matter that does not organize itself into atoms or molecules, this hyperfluid or whatever it is should be everywhere; why aren’t we pumping it out of the cellar rather than searching for it with the most sophisticated instruments imaginable.

Dude, 80 PERCENT!

[equaviator]

I think that’s a fair assumption for an enlightened human being to make...Got any more?

[varon]

............exterior of the football-field-size International Space Station.

Wowsa, those boys and girls have themselves quite a penthouse suite up there. All along I thought they were cramped into a small capsule but an approx 57,000 sq ft pad is quite impressive.

[Moonman62]

Dark matter is nearly impossible to see on a small scale with our current knowledge and technology. The next big question in physics is whether dark matter is composed of particles that are their own anti-particles. Neutrinos could be a component of dark matter that fall into that category.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It’s the Global Warming of Astrophysics

It's a mathematical construct used to get all their other equations to make sense in their quest for the Grand Unified Theory.

[LibWhacker]

From http://www.spacetoday.org/SpcStns/FirstAnnivOccupy.html :

Size. During its third year of human residency, the habitable pressurized volume of the station was equal to the habitable space in an 1,800-square-ft. three-bedroom house with 8-ft. ceilings.

The habitable pressurized volume on the completed station is expected to be 43,000 cubic feet. That would be about the volume of three average American houses, each one containing about 2,000 square ft. with 7-ft. ceilings for a total of around 14,000 cubic ft. each. That pressurized volume also would be roughly equivalent to the interior of a 747 jumbo jet.

The station remains the largest, most sophisticated. most powerful spacecraft ever built. It has a mass of almost 400,000 lbs.

The majority of the power, cooling, volume and research capacity on the station have been supplied by the United States.

Hmmm... maybe they should rename it the Internatiional Space Mansion? ;-)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LibWhacker. An extra for APoD members.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LibWhacker.

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