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Astronomers Make Important Dark Matter Discovery

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the matter's-goth-sister dept.

saudadelinux writes "To quote a press release on NASA's site, astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered 'how dark and normal matter have been forced apart in an extraordinarily energetic collision.' There will be a briefing at noon, August 21 ET, on this discovery, with streaming media provided by NASA, and some details of the research posted on Harvard's Chandra site just beforehand."

3 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. Nothing to see, move along by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How about waiting for the 21st and THEN posting a story. There is literally nothing of substance yet. Oh wait, this is Slashdot. We'll just have it posted again in two days, then on the 21st, then on the 25th, etc.

  2. NOOooo...!!! by The_REAL_DZA · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Someone's giving us ADVANCE NOTICE on Slashdot and you're COMPLAINING?!?!?!
     
    I can't count how many times I've read something on Slashdot about something cool that's already happened, just barely, and said "Once again, information I could have put to much better use YESTERDAY!!!
     
    Zonk, pay no attention to the criticism; I for one WELCOME some in-advance info (might even vote for it for "overlord"...)

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  3. Re:Question. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Because the flow of information is reversed- scientists infer the nature of dark matter from indirect observations of secondary effects. If there wasn't evidence from these secondary effects, then these inferences would be wrong, and scientists would have to come up with a new theory. Sure, there are some scientists who have a lot invested in dark matter, just as there were many prominent scientists who built their careers on the study of luminiferous aether or phlogiston. Time, and science, proved them wrong.

    Religionists, OTOH, believe in a Supreme Being a priori, and attribute whatever they cannot otherwise explain to the "mysterious ways" of the divine. The edifice of cosmology would withstand the discovery that there is no dark matter. Would religion be able to withstand the discovery that there is no God?