| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"stoney" |
| Date: |
07 Jan 2007 09:03:16 PM |
| Object: |
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
| User: "Greywolf" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 01:12:37 AM |
|
|
"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
Just look at that! Damn the torpedoes! Where going to get to the ultimate
truths regarding our universe and our existence even if we have to discard
assumptions we thought were a 'given'! *That's* our courageous *and*
brilliant scientists.
The theologian: 'Well you scientists keep plugging away. When you 'confirm'
that that next 'break-through' discovery you all made is now a -- for want
of a better word -- 'fact', *we'll* say that you've just helped 'prove' the
existence of 'God''.
Neat, huh?
Greywolf
.
|
|
|
| User: "Greywolf" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 01:15:59 AM |
|
|
"Greywolf" <greywolf@cybrzn.com> wrote in message
news:12q3rnjk9q9d439@corp.supernews.com...
"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
Just look at that! Damn the torpedoes! Where going to get to the ultimate
truths regarding our universe and our existence even if we have to discard
assumptions we thought were a 'given'! *That's* our courageous *and*
brilliant scientists.
The theologian: 'Well you scientists keep plugging away. When you
'confirm' that that next 'break-through' discovery you all made is now
a -- for want of a better word -- 'fact', *we'll* say that you've just
helped 'prove' the existence of 'God''.
Neat, huh?
Said with a *great* deal of sarcasm -- and utter contempt.
Greywolf
.
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 03:55:27 AM |
|
|
On Mon, 8 Jan 2007 01:15:59 -0600, "Greywolf" <greywolf@cybrzn.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <12q3rtubv4su1b6@corp.supernews.com>
"Greywolf" <greywolf@cybrzn.com> wrote in message
news:12q3rnjk9q9d439@corp.supernews.com...
"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
Just look at that! Damn the torpedoes! Where going to get to the ultimate
truths regarding our universe and our existence even if we have to discard
assumptions we thought were a 'given'! *That's* our courageous *and*
brilliant scientists.
The theologian: 'Well you scientists keep plugging away. When you
'confirm' that that next 'break-through' discovery you all made is now
a -- for want of a better word -- 'fact', *we'll* say that you've just
helped 'prove' the existence of 'God''.
Neat, huh?
Said with a *great* deal of sarcasm -- and utter contempt.
And perfectly targetted accuracy!
--
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 03:54:51 AM |
|
|
On Mon, 8 Jan 2007 01:12:37 -0600, "Greywolf" <greywolf@cybrzn.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <12q3rnjk9q9d439@corp.supernews.com>
"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
:
Just look at that! Damn the torpedoes! Where going to get to the ultimate
truths regarding our universe and our existence even if we have to discard
assumptions we thought were a 'given'! *That's* our courageous *and*
brilliant scientists.
The theologian: 'Well you scientists keep plugging away. When you 'confirm'
that that next 'break-through' discovery you all made is now a -- for want
of a better word -- 'fact', *we'll* say that you've just helped 'prove' the
existence of 'God''.
Neat, huh?
Every new scientific fact creates two more gaps for this god(R) thingy
to fit between!
--
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 12:23:48 AM |
|
|
In article <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Thanks Stoney.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
11 Jan 2007 06:20:49 PM |
|
|
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
[]
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Thanks Stoney.
Welcome.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
12 Jan 2007 12:26:46 AM |
|
|
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
[]
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Thanks Stoney.
Welcome.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
12 Jan 2007 08:12:43 PM |
|
|
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
12 Jan 2007 11:51:02 PM |
|
|
In article <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
I could swear I saw his picture on a milk carton. Oh, wait. That was
Jesus the Mexican gardner. Never mind.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
12 Jan 2007 11:24:42 PM |
|
|
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
15 Jan 2007 07:21:51 PM |
|
|
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:54:42 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
Zorro?
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
15 Jan 2007 09:47:40 PM |
|
|
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:21:51 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <65aoq2tvjmar0sa3r3r1fo8tc18alj5rdd@4ax.com>
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:54:42 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
Zorro?
With wings.
And horns.
And a grin from ear to ear.
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
18 Jan 2007 10:12:55 PM |
|
|
On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:17:40 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:21:51 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <65aoq2tvjmar0sa3r3r1fo8tc18alj5rdd@4ax.com>
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:54:42 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
Zorro?
With wings.
And horns.
And a grin from ear to ear.
Oh. Shrub.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
19 Jan 2007 01:01:15 AM |
|
|
On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:12:55 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <o9h0r2li6j5qbu8sk5q1i42ovr862etrne@4ax.com>
On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:17:40 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:21:51 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <65aoq2tvjmar0sa3r3r1fo8tc18alj5rdd@4ax.com>
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:54:42 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
Zorro?
With wings.
And horns.
And a grin from ear to ear.
Oh. Shrub.
Yes sorry, I forgot:
And a bottle of bourbon in the filing cabinet.
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
21 Jan 2007 02:11:47 PM |
|
|
On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:31:15 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:12:55 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <o9h0r2li6j5qbu8sk5q1i42ovr862etrne@4ax.com>
On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:17:40 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:21:51 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <65aoq2tvjmar0sa3r3r1fo8tc18alj5rdd@4ax.com>
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:54:42 +1030, Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:12:43 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <3vfgq2teb1j4r56bjgmiv7jm7893dimond@4ax.com>
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:26:46 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
In article <11ldq2ddhal6m5ers708j0o7lbf146ol88@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote in alt.atheism
[]
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Not unless the Hubble finds Jeebus.
Now I hope that some wise ***** NASA scientist doesn't get any ideas like
photoshopping a picture of Jeebus on the surface of Mars or Uranus and
saying: "Look! We found him!"
Kind of on the difficult side since no one knows what the purported
character looked like.
He looks like Mark Earnest's Therapist.
Zorro?
With wings.
And horns.
And a grin from ear to ear.
Oh. Shrub.
Yes sorry, I forgot:
And a bottle of bourbon in the filing cabinet.
You mean Venusian ThunderRipple.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 03:52:43 AM |
|
|
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-13D7FD.22234807012007@news.giganews.com>
In article <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Perhaps we should form a prayer vigil for NASA?
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
09 Jan 2007 12:18:36 AM |
|
|
In article <h254q2dt8mmeubmnrsuvg5t2i9t4l8fkhh@4ax.com>,
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-13D7FD.22234807012007@news.giganews.com>
In article <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>,
stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Perhaps we should form a prayer vigil for NASA?
I wonder if the fundies want the telescope to crash since it's
embarrassing the heck out of them and their fairy tales.
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
09 Jan 2007 03:55:10 AM |
|
|
On Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:18:36 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-5B6B70.22183608012007@news.giganews.com>
In article <h254q2dt8mmeubmnrsuvg5t2i9t4l8fkhh@4ax.com>,
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-13D7FD.22234807012007@news.giganews.com>
:
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Perhaps we should form a prayer vigil for NASA?
I wonder if the fundies want the telescope to crash since it's
embarrassing the heck out of them and their fairy tales.
My impression is that most of them are so ignorant that they are not
even aware that Hubble exists, or at least have zero idea of what it
does.
I could be wrong here...
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "johac" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
09 Jan 2007 11:52:47 PM |
|
|
In article <ghp6q2d6pm1eerb0itt5f2b7b7b16bqbga@4ax.com>,
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:18:36 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-5B6B70.22183608012007@news.giganews.com>
In article <h254q2dt8mmeubmnrsuvg5t2i9t4l8fkhh@4ax.com>,
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:48 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-13D7FD.22234807012007@news.giganews.com>
:
That is amazing. And it was all done with the Hubble. I do hope that
NASA gets to fix it.
Perhaps we should form a prayer vigil for NASA?
I wonder if the fundies want the telescope to crash since it's
embarrassing the heck out of them and their fairy tales.
My impression is that most of them are so ignorant that they are not
even aware that Hubble exists, or at least have zero idea of what it
does.
I could be wrong here...
--
If they are aware it exists, I'm sure that they believe that:
A) It is a device of the Devil to trick us.
or
B) It's a fake and all of them pitchurs are drawn by some sinner artist
in some Hollywood studio,
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
Contact - Throw a .net over the .com
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Gray" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
07 Jan 2007 09:56:32 PM |
|
|
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:03:16 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a small fraction of the sky we're talking about - something
like two square degrees out of 40,000 square degrees in total; but they
are definitely the clearest pictures we have to date," he said.
Professor Carlos Frenk, from the University of Durham, UK, told BBC
News: "The technique they used really is the future.
"In the next decade, I think most studies of the Universe's large-scale
structure will be dark matter structure studies. In this sense, I think
galaxies will be relegated to a secondary role."
He added: "For the first time, we can see what's really out there."
The University of Durham astronomer said that, overall, the results were
a "beautiful confirmation" of the cold dark matter theory on which he
works.
This theory is a leading model to explain how structures in the Universe
evolved over cosmic time.
Soon after the Big Bang, cold dark matter formed the first large
structures in the Universe, which then collapsed under their own weight
to form vast halos.
The gravitational pull of these halos sucked in ordinary matter,
providing a focus for the formation of galaxies.
'Naked' clumps
But astronomers will have to resolve discrepancies in the otherwise
tight connection between ordinary matter and the dark "stuff".
Concentrations of ordinary matter almost always overlap with
concentrations of dark matter - but not absolutely always.
Conversely, the researchers saw that dark matter concentrations
sometimes seemed to have no corresponding ordinary matter.
"It's not forbidden, but you get a little uncomfortable because you
would think the two should go together," said Dr Linder.
Carlos Frenk commented: "Finding what I would call 'naked' clumps of
dark matter where there are no galaxies for me is very strange. All dark
matter clumps of sufficient size should have galaxies - if our
understanding is correct."
For the moment, no-one is talking about needing to revise cosmological
models; but Professor Frenk said everything hinged on the size of these
anomalies.
"What would be an enormous puzzle would be to find big, luminous
galaxies sitting out there in the middle of nowhere with no dark matter
around them. That really would be shocking."
The discrepancies could turn out simply to be artefacts, caused by noise
in the data. But then again, said Carlos Frenk, they could be real.
Dr Massey said the anomalies were "tantalising" and that his team was
eager to investigate them more closely.
But, he told BBC News, "the discrepancies are not yet at a level of
significance where I am definitively convinced they are something other
than noise or isolated defects in our analysis."
The findings come from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (Cosmos) project -
the largest ever undertaken with Hubble Space Telescope.
/end
"dark matter" is merely the collections of all those lost socks, pens
and teaspoons.
--
.
|
|
|
| User: "Olrik" |
|
| Title: Re: Hubble makes 3D dark matter map [pics on site] |
08 Jan 2007 12:51:01 AM |
|
|
Michael Gray wrote:
On Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:03:16 -0800, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
- Refer: <euc3q2tvnulvb0b8qnutlr5er6k7hkmsnp@4ax.com>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6235751.stm
Sunday, 7 January 2007, 18:00 GMT
Hubble makes 3D dark matter map
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Seattle
Astronomers have mapped the cosmic "scaffold" of dark matter upon which
stars and galaxies are assembled.
Dark matter does not reflect or emit detectable light, yet it accounts
for most of the mass in the Universe.
The study, published in Nature journal, provides the best evidence yet
that the distribution of galaxies follows the distribution of dark
matter.
This is because dark matter attracts "ordinary" matter through its
gravitational pull.
Scientists presented details of their research during a news conference
here at the 209th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in
Seattle, Washington.
It involved nearly 1,000 hours of observations with the Hubble Space
Telescope.
According to one researcher, the findings provide "beautiful
confirmation" of standard theories to explain how structures in the
Universe evolved over billions of years.
Ordinary matter - gas, stars, planets and galaxies - makes up just
one-sixth of all matter in the Universe. The remainder is unseen.
While previous studies of dark matter relied on simulations, this one
details its large-scale distribution in 3D.
For astronomers, the challenge of mapping the Universe has been
described as similar to mapping a city from night-time aerial snapshots
showing only street lights.
Dark matter is invisible, so only the luminous galaxies can be seen
directly. The new images are equivalent to seeing a city, its suburbs
and country roads in daylight for the first time.
Yet puzzling discrepancies remain.
Light bending
The map of mass distribution is based on measurements of about half a
million distant galaxies.
Lead author Richard Massey and his colleagues used a technique called
weak gravitational lensing to detect the dark matter.
To reach us, the light from galaxies has to pass through intervening
dark matter.
This dark material bends light in much the same way as light is bent
when travelling through a lens.
"We understand statistically what those galaxies are supposed to look
like," said Dr Massey, from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) in Pasadena, US.
"If you place some dark matter in the way, this dark matter - through
its gravity - bends the path of light.
"As the light gets deflected, it distorts the shape of the background
galaxies. So we end up seeing them in a distorted way, as if through
lots of little lenses - and each of those lenses is a bit of dark
matter."
To add 3D distance information, the Hubble observations were combined
with multi-colour data from powerful ground-based telescopes.
The map of dark matter distribution confirms that galaxy clusters are
located within clumps of this invisible material.
These clumps are connected via bridges of dark matter called filaments.
The clumps and filaments form a loose network - like a web.
Cold and dark
Dr Eric Linder, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US, said
the study was a "big step forward" in understanding the influence of
dark matter on our Universe.
"It's still a | | |
