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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."

5 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. east/west??? by sveard · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Eastern and western side of the galaxy? Right...

    1. Re:east/west??? by famebait · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why is that any more stupid than eastern and western hemispheres of a planet?

      Both designations are arbitrary, but once agreed on they are useful for
      communicating, which is sort of what language is for. Just because _you_
      don't often need to differentiate between far regions of the galaxy doesn't mean
      astronomers don't, and have arranged it so they can.

      --
      sudo ergo sum
  2. cool/uncool by denzacar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I myself prefer the cool/uncool division of our planet and/or galaxy.

    Its very simple. I just take an arbitrary imaginary line and divide the planet/galaxy along that line.
    The cool part is the one I'm on at the time. Simple.

    Yeah, it sucks a bit for all those uncool people out there but its their own fault really.
    For a price of a plane ticket and a beer they can be on the cool side too.
    Get me a house/job/money/car/female-combo and I might consider making their neighborhood my permanent residence, and thus - cool.

    Until someone from say... Delta Quadrant comes up with a better offer.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  3. Journalists strike again by mapkinase · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Original article

    As reported by an international team in the January 10 issue of Nature


    Today is 11th of January and it is still not on the website. Obviously, the author of the article knows in advance about this publication.

    What pisses me off is that he wrote about that in the past tense. Ordinary folks like myself who wanted just to read the peer-reviewed article, not their popularizing crap, are mislead to go there.

    Is it that difficult to write "to be published" instead of "published"?

    Rant off.
    --
    I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  4. Once again by argStyopa · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I don't think it takes an astrophysicist to understand that correlation does not prove causation?

    Facts (as far as I can tell from TFA):
    There's an asymmetry in the positron cloud at the center of the galaxy.
    There is a SIMILAR asymmetry in the distribution of low-mass, x-ray binary stellar systems.

    How do you go from that to some sort of causation?

    By the same logic, fat men and televisions in close proximity are CREATING couches.

    --
    -Styopa