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Origin of Antimatter Cloud Discovered

Posted by Soulskill on from the finding-an-anti-silver-lining dept.

Active Seti brings us news that astronomers have discovered the origin of an enormous antimatter cloud surrounding the galactic center. Data from the European Space Agency's "Integral" satellite indicated that the cloud's distribution is similar to that of a group of binary star systems containing black holes or neutron stars. From NASA's article: "The cloud itself is roughly 10,000 light-years across, and generates the energy of about 10,000 Suns. The cloud shines brightly in gamma rays due to a reaction governed by Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2. Integral found that the cloud extends farther on the western side of the galactic center than it does on the eastern side. Integral found certain types of binary systems near the galactic center are also skewed to the west. Because the two "pictures" of antimatter and hard low-mass X-ray binaries line up strongly suggests the binaries are producing significant amounts of positrons."

15 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Um... by Smordnys+s'regrepsA · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...I feel stupid saying this, but...
    In English, please?

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    Just -1, Troll talking to another.
    1. Re:Um... by jollyreaper · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...I feel stupid saying this, but...
      In English, please? In the voice of Ollie the Blackucast weatherman:

      "CLOUDS GO BOOM!"
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    2. Re:Um... by nacturation · · Score: 3, Funny

      If I weren't heading off to work, I'd tell you the story of Dick (matter) and Jane (antimatter) whose sordid love affair resulted in their eventual meeting and annihilation of their corporeal forms, converting the sum of their body mass into pure energy. Alas, if I were to continue the tale I'd be late for work.

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  2. Sorry everyone by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 1, Funny

    I won't eat the chilli again.
    I only started after the last gas cloud from my curries occluded polaris.

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re: Sorry everyone by flargleblarg · · Score: 2, Funny

      So the gas cloud originated from Uranus?

  3. Quote hurts my brain! by Sciros · · Score: 4, Funny
    From TFA:

    "We expected something unexpected, but we did not expect this," says Skinner. I really don't have anything to say about it other than... "huhwhat?" If he said something like "we expected something unexpected, and that's what we got," that would be better. But it's 7am on Monday and that doesn't help in any case.
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    1. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by hcdejong · · Score: 2, Funny

      Must have been the Spanish Inquisition...

    2. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by Eponymous+Bastard · · Score: 4, Funny

      From TFA:

      "We expected something unexpected, but we did not expect this," says Skinner. I really don't have anything to say about it other than... "huhwhat?" If he said something like "we expected something unexpected, and that's what we got," that would be better. I'm guessing they were expecting something unexpected but got the Spanish Inquisition instead. A fine astronomy tradition. Even Galileo didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.

      But it's 7am on Monday and that doesn't help in any case. Ok ... that statement was unexpected ...
    3. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 3, Funny

      We expected something unexpected, but we did not expect this

      They expected whatever expectorated the radiation was an unexpected source. Yet the expectation that they would find the source of exectoration to be quite so unexpected, that the excited scientists exclaimed that such an extraordinary event was quite unexpected. The exact reason for the non-uniform distribution is still unexplained.

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    4. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by Sciros · · Score: 2, Funny

      Man you are NOT helping here! Especially with that extra "expect" type word you put in there. And then you also misspelled it later. And the second sentence is more like a sentence fragment. Clearly this article is hurting a lot of people's brains.

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    5. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 3, Funny

      Man you are NOT helping here! Especially with that extra "expect" type word you put in there. And then you also misspelled it later. And the second sentence is more like a sentence fragment. Clearly this article is hurting a lot of people's brains.


      I would eagerly extract and edit the erroneous item. Except the egregeous use of exacting diction to exemplify my etymological interests entails effort. Instead I end it entirely, ere I make an assonance of myself.

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    6. Re:Quote hurts my brain! by provigilman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Perhaps the giant gas cloud not only has anti-matter but anti-brain particles as well. The more we look at it and talk about, the more we absorb and the less intelligent and easily confused we'll get. Eventually it will get so bad that....Oh, SHINY!!!

      --
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  4. Re:cool/uncool by SQLGuru · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's all of those CFC's causing Galactic Warming.....legislate now! Save the galaxy!

    Layne

  5. Re:Do those particles travel over here? by inviolet · · Score: 2, Funny

    If an hypothetical spaceship entered the [antimatter] cloud, I don't know if it will be changed into pure energy almost instantly or not (the violent reaction at the surface of the hull will probably push back the antimatter cloud, and you need the same mass of antimatter to totally disintegrate the introduced matter) but it will be like putting it into a fusion reactor so the crew would die very fast anyway.

    Indeed. This issue is hush-hush, but antimatter is the only thing a General Products hull isn't proof against.

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  6. Re:cool/uncool by Altus · · Score: 3, Funny


    Sure, like your "anti-matter credits" are going to do anything to help.

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