Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Orion Nebula Gets New Milepost Marker, Now Closer

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the objects-in-mirror-may-be-closer-than-they-appear dept.

twilight30 writes "Discovery News is reporting that 'One of the most famous and scrutinized heavenly objects is 10 to 20 percent closer than we thought, say two teams of radio astronomers who have made some of the most precise cosmic distance measurements ever, with a telescope nearly as big as Earth. The Orion Nebula is the closest major stellar nursery to Earth, so it has been heavily studied to learn about the lives of stars. Its distance from Earth, however, has long been a matter of uncertainty, with an estimate made about 25 years ago in need of revision.'"

7 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. "a telescope nearly as big as Earth" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's nothing. They needed a computer nearly the size of Jupiter to process the data.

  2. Re:question: by The_Mystic_For_Real · · Score: 5, Funny
    Or maybe the nebula is just moving 20% closer every six months!

    Fortunately it will get caught in Xeno's paradox.

    --

    _____

    Thank you.

  3. Expanding Universe... by CODiNE · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let's just wait a little longer and we won't have to reprint all those textbooks.

    --
    Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
  4. Re:question: by servognome · · Score: 4, Funny

    but if the Orion Nebula is undergoing rapid beta expansion, the measurements would be invalid. I don't know of any way to correct for this phenomenon...
    Release it and figure it out in Service Pack 1.
    --
    D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  5. Telescope warning by autophile · · Score: 4, Funny

    Warning: Objects in telescope are closer than they appear.

    --Rob

    --
    Towards the Singularity.
  6. Translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    >One of the most famous and scrutinized heavenly objects is 10 to 20 percent closer than we thought

    In other words, Natalie Portman moved from Boston to New York.

  7. Re:Closer than we thought... by jamesh · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmmm... 10 to 20 percent closer in 25 years... (gets out calculator)... that means that it will be here in 125 to 250 years!!!

    I for one welcome our invading Orion Nebula overlords.