Posted on 09/20/2006 6:40:57 PM PDT by annie laurie
A new discovery is casting doubt on the idea that a type of star explosion shines with equal brightness wherever it occurs in the universe. The finding could have implications for estimates of the size of the cosmos.
Type-1a supernovae are typically used as standard indicators of distance in the vast expanse of the universe. But the discovery of a Type-1a supernova more massive than was thought possible could force astronomers to rethink their ideas about the luminous objects, scientists reported today.
...
It was thought that all Type-1a supernovae emit equal amounts of light at their peak and fade at the same rate afterwards. Because of this they are used as "standard candles" for figuring out cosmic distances. In 1998, using these Type-1a supernovae, astronomers found that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
But astronomers recently discovered a Type-1a supernova called SNLS-03D3bb that shines more than twice as brightly as its counterparts, researchers report in the Sept. 20 issue of the journal Nature. This along with the low kinetic energy of the star — the energy of the flying objects from the explosion — implies that the supernova originated from a white dwarf more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit ...
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Ping
i thought something funny was going on up there. My bags are packed and I'm waiting on the mother ship to take me home.
..oops, there goes the increasing expansion of the universe math... time to start over..
No "beam me up" for you ~ this was undoubtedly a Dyson Sphere.
Does this mean that Pluto is a planet again? ;)
Just imagine if we could do that here, on Earth!
bring back Pluto!
So we're back to the "black curtain with diamonds glued onto it" theory? ;)
"So by looking at the spectrum we can screen wierdos like this out"
Celestial profiling, eh?
Wait until the Intergalactic Civil Liberties Union hears about THAT!;)
I think you've got the makings of a new sci-fi flick!!
A horror sci-fi flick...
You guys crack me up :)
When did this occur?
Oh? So we are looking at something that occured that long ago and we do not know what it looks like now?
Hmmm...
Good post. Thanks.
Comic Neuralizer **ping**
A lot of folks, including Darwinists, are under the strange impression that scientists have figured out almost everything.
They have figured out a lot.
But my bet is that the universe and everything in it is a great deal more complicated than what know right now, or could possibly ever know.
The story of life is receding horizons.
Which pole are you going to this time, Bob?
What's a "Darwinist?"
I didn't see that field in any of my college catalogs.
Returning to K-pax. Similar to earth but doesn't have the fruit tree selection.
Just when we had everything figured out, down to the last one millionth of a second after the Big Bang...
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