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 ...
Perhaps it was a civilization that detonated a matter disintegrator that was .65 billion LY radius, and this was the result.
OMG...I hope they were able to roll that beached whale back into the ocean...poor critter.
Their calculations for the destruction radius was slightly off by a parsec or two............
Its the drain hole.
More importantly, it implies matter.
I thought their dog was dead?..............
Calling a void, a big chunk of nothing a structure or an object? Interesting manner of thinking!
So... it’s NOT the largest OBJECT...
more like the largest ABSENCE of an object.
are my socks there?
Not really. “Structure” implies some sort of organization different than its surroundings. Leave some salt water to evaporate, and you’ll see plenty of “structure” that wasn’t “built” (unless you want to move your explanation seriously into the supernatural realm).
This was a plot device in one of the later “Star Trek” series episodes. TNG? Voyager?
There is a theory that intelligent beings develop their scientific knowledge thru roughly the same process, eventually reaching a point where a “scientist” does the equivalent of “I wonder what happens if I try _this_...” and the entire planet/system/galaxy ceases to exist. Maybe someone tried it on a remarkably large scale in the center of that region...
It will become universe warming caused by earth SUVs.
Change the data to fit the model. Always protect the model
Inside Obama’s head?
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.
...
So it’s really not a void, a vacuum, or empty. But let’s call it a supervoid to get attention.
Is a lack of material actually a structure? Like a hole in your heart or a forgotten song?
I was curious how they came to determine a “void” is an “object” (or even worse - a “structure”).
The author doesn’t own a dictionary, it would seem.
ROFL My thought was the same when I read the heading LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.