[DannyTN]

Kind of makes you wonder if they really know what they think they know. How many of their models and theories seem to work but really miss key underlying concepts.

[longshadow]

Any of you guys get the feeling some of the quotes are slightly out of context?

[Aric2000]

Care to give me your professional opinion on this?

Thanks....

[nuconvert]

"Astronomers admit they don't understand dark energy and matter"

Wonder how they came up with the names if they're so in the dark?

[KevinDavis]

Space Ping! This is the space ping list! Let me know if you want on or off this list!

[Man_of_Reason]

"Some physicists theorize that a vacuum, like empty space, is actually a seething mass of unknown particles that continuously pop in and out of existence, creating pressure that drives the expansion of the universe."

Sounds like they're getting back to the ether theories.

[Rudder]

Cosmologists have no idea what the nature of the dark matter and the dark energy may be...

Finally, an article about nothing!

[Russell Scott]

Job 9
8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. 9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

[Normal4me]

They don't know what Dark matter is yet it can weigh as much as 100 Trillion of our suns...? How'd they pull That one out of their @sses?

[yooper]

"In other words, dark matter acts as a brake on cosmic expansion, dark energy as an accelerator."

So who is pushing the pedals? No matter what I read on this subject I always arrive at the conclusion that God is real.

[Clinging Bitterly]

I dunno what to think about this. Dark matter has been well studied and understood as far as I know, but the study of dark energy is fairly new.

This is something that's going to be interesting to watch as knowledge develops, because it's effect on what we know of the physics of the universe is going to change some of the values that science has held that are used in calculating things such as the very age of the earth and the universe.

A couple weeks ago, I saw an article about a "study" that was posted here where the combined effects of a theorized quantity of dark matter and dark energy were factored in, and it seemed to demonstrate that the speed of light is slowing at a very high rate (in astronomical terms), and the light speed figure was extrapolated to arrive at the initial speed, then the universe's expansion rate was recalculated from the time of the "big bang", and, assuming these light speed calculations were correct, it showed the universe to be only about 8,000 years old.

The result seemed rather convenient, since the study was done by scientists in a religious organization (who's name I don't recall). It would take someone with a lot more knowledge of this sort of thing than me to say whether that study had any credibility.

But who knows? That age would be about right to fit into the timeline of the bible, but extensive fossil records and other studies of the physical geology on earth still seem to contradict that (and those are things that scientists can see and touch, unlike theoretical properties of "dark" matter and energy).

I guess we still have a lot to learn. If science eventually proves something like that, there's a whole bunch of people that are gonna be real upset.

Dave in Eugene

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Hey NR:

This is spot on.

But you really don't get a feel for the irony of this unless you see Steven Hawkings "The Universe" DVD.

Here he goes on about how Christianity really doesn't have a clue, taking pot shots at Catholism, (like THAT is something new) saying that the Universe has yeilded most of her secrets up to smart modern scientists like himself, and oh BTW, there is one SMALL FLY in the ointment.

We don't know what composes 95% of the Universe.

But other than that, we have everything DOWN!

It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

[freedom9]

He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

[aruanan]

``We should be humble about dark energy,'' said Sean Carroll, a University of Chicago astronomer. ``We haven't a clue as to what is going on.'

Pink Matter Alert!! Let's invoke the presence of undetectable matter to rescue our theories instead of paying attention to what's right there and revising our theories accordingly. Some monkeys really want to hold onto the nut of their dreams and waste away with their hands trapped in the big cosmological jar.

[tang-soo]

Jordi, an astronomer at Ohio State University in Columbus ...

Cool, a fellow Buckeye!

[Not now, Not ever!]

ping, must read when I have the time!

[Sam Cree]

bump

[AndrewC]

For decades, theorists speculated that much of the universe was beyond their ken. Only in the last few years have observations on extremely sensitive telescopes confirmed that speculation and clarified a few of its details. Various experiments are under way, or proposed, to unravel the many remaining mysteries.

Masterful quote.