Intergalactic Missing Mass Missing Again

Ponca City, We Love You writes "Researchers at the University Of Alabama In Huntsville have discovered that some x-rays thought to come from intergalactic clouds of 'warm' gas are instead probably caused by lightweight electrons — leaving the mass of the universe as much as ten to 20 percent lighter (in terms of its ordinary matter) than previously calculated. In 2002 the same team reported finding large amounts of extra 'soft' (relatively low-energy) x-rays coming from the vast spaces in the middle of galaxy clusters. Their cumulative mass was thought to account for as much as ten percent of the mass and gravity needed to hold together galaxies, galaxy clusters, and perhaps the universe itself. When the team looked at data from a galaxy cluster in the southern sky, however, they found that energy from those additional soft x-rays doesn't look like it should. 'The best, most logical explanation seems to be that a large fraction of the energy comes from electrons smashing into photons instead of from warm atoms and ions, which would have recognizable spectral emission lines,' said Dr. Max Bonamente. The work was published Oct. 20 in the Astrophysical Journal."

Comments

Better Explanation

[DumbSwede]

Conservation of Mass and America's obesity problem better explain where it has disappeared to.

Flaming != Flamebait

[BadAnalogyGuy]

I realize this is offtopic, and will be modded down as such, but it grates on me when I see a perfectly good flame modded down as flamebait. Flamebait is something that attracts flames. Flames are what feed flamebait. They are not synonymous.

Flamebait is characterized by the deliberate use of directly flame-able content. "Hi! I'm an Apple user, but I don't accept the gay lifestyle. Is there anyone way to fix one or the other problem?" Note that the comment uses the commonly repeated fact that Apple users are mostly gay and that he positions himself as the opposite of it. Then he insinuates that being an Apple user and gay are problems. He asks for help, but there is no way to answer without either claiming that Apple users are gay, that Apple computers shouldn't be used, or just starting over from the beginning and laying waste to his initial premise. The final choice, which is the obvious one, is almost always in the form of a flame. Thus, the flamebait post worked and garnered the flames he intended.

The reply comment which flamed him is not flamebait though, unless it also deliberately uses flame-able content. Mostly, these flames are useless and should be modded off-topic.

To sum up: Don't mod flames as flamebait. Mod them, if anything, off-topic.