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Voyager Clue Points To Origin of the Axis of Evil
KentuckyFC writes "Cosmologists have been scratching their heads over the discovery of a pattern imprinted on the cosmic microwave background, the radiation left over from the Big Bang. This pattern, the so-called Axis of Evil, just shouldn't be there. Now an independent researcher from Canada says the pattern may be caused by the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space where there is a sharp change in pressure, temperature and density of ions in space. Known as the termination shock, astronomers had thought this boundary was spherical. But last year, data from the Voyager spacecraft which have crossed the boundary, showed it was asymmetric. The new thinking is that the termination shock acts like a giant lens, refracting light that passes through it. Any distortion of the lens ought to show up as a kind of imprinted pattern on an otherwise random image. But the real eye-opener is that as the shape of the termination shock changes (as the Solar Wind varies, for example), so too should the pattern in the microwave background. And there is tentative evidence that this is happening too (abstract)."
It all sounds very interesting and important and technical, but what does it all mean? Dammit! What does it all mean, man?
Does that mean that to get a clear view we need space crafts beyond the boundry?
Wikipedia says the Axis of evil is "Cosmic anisotropy, an uneven temperature distribution of the cosmic microwave background radiation" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisotropy#Physics
I tried to understand this, but it was too (abstract)
More music, fewer hits
Would have been nice to find this out before ESA launched their shiny new Planck telescope to study the CMBR.
Perhaps Planck2, or whatever the next model is called, will have to travel outside the solar system to get a clear view. If so, we'll be waiting for a very long time for results from it.
Say what? I know "computer science" has the word "science" in it, but I'm definitely out of my element here. ;)
until Voyager returns from the edge as Vyger and answers all our questions or are we in an alternate timeline now?
"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget." -Thomas Szasz
Has anyone checked Iran, Iraq and North Korea for traces of this radiation?
It's incredible that the Voyager spacecrafts still provide useful scientific data so long after their launch. We don't build our stuff as tough as those two anymore. lol
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So does this mean torture's ok and waterboarding might prevent the heat death of the universe?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
you need to position yourself outside of the milky way galaxy, and far from the andromeda galaxy too
and even then, the light pollution from these gaudy neighborhood photon hogs spoils the good view
but take heart: nasa already has a plan to send a telescope outside the galaxy to get a good view, and it should be fully operational in 25,000 years
of course, there's the issue of the slight lag between taking a picture and the picture being transmitted back to earth, but top minds are working on that small problem, rest assured
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
So if it's changing shape, and distorts light, does that mean that it voids a majority of data we get from long range observations?
The musings of just another geek and his junk.
Be careful what you label your anomalous data. It may come back to be your new theory.
Try explaining to Americans why "The Axis of Evil" won out over conservative theory. Give the genius who thought that term up another grant... ;)
I have been following the Voyager updates with some interest over the past couple of years. I find it astounding that we are still managing to get useful data from these vehicles which were launched back in the 70's. Certainly, they have exceeded their design mission, and only advances in large aperture radio coverage here on earth have allowed continued communication. To put this in perspective - the one way light time from earth to both vehicles is now on the order of about 30 hours! Interestingly, the vehicles are adorned with a message to prospective lifeforms who would encounter the spacecraft long in the future - a "golden record", which is technology long since obsolete here on earth during only the short 30 year span of the mission. Food for thought.
Who forgot to put the microwave detection equipment on Voyager?
Of course it changed shape, one of its members is gone!
Why did they call it the Axis of Evil? I mean, I get that the pattern disrupts the CMB radiation, but it seems to be kinda a strech to go to Axis of Evil. I mean, if you that into getting a dig on the former administration, why not just call it the Cheney effect or Haliburtonisis
So the transition from solar to interstellar medium distorts things like the transition from atmosphere to "space" distorts things ? Kind of like finding out stars don't really twinkle ?
That new and improved version should be positioned in the interestellar space. Will take years, but will put clear once and forever that good have crosses and evil axis.
But the big one will be Hubble 3.0, outside our galaxy, sending us the images of the Big Bang that suffered Earth a bit after it got lauched.
Does this mean that the lensing effect alters what we can observe from the universe?
How about what we think of the size and distribution of this universe? Or it's "expansion speed"? Could those be somewhat distorted due to this effect and the fact that the solar system itself moves at great speed?
It would be interesting to know whether the apparent red/blue shifts from galaxy observations could be accounted, or at least affected by this this phenomenon. If the case holds true it could call for a revision of many theories regarding the topology of the Universe, and its ultimate fate. I wonder if any astrophysicists would have comments against such an assumption.
So now we have to deploy a telescope outside the termination shock to get accurate pictures of the Universe? And we just spent all that money upgrading Hubble!
Its all a lie, I tell you...
If anyone has seen the Truman show then they will know what I mean when I say we all being fooled. The boundary is simply the painted wall of our illusion chamber. There is just a lot of goo before the wall to keep our hopes up. Now I want my Nobel Prize.
Just kidding.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
...that when viewed from outside the solar system, Pluto might actually still look like a planet?
Woohoo! Score one for our favorite space rock!
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
Why should it be spherical?
Should it be shaped somehow like a voronoi cell... Surely the pressure from surrounding stars must depend on the direction you look in.
just shouldn't be there.
Sorry, but that's religious talk. Science revels in unexpected results.
I hardly know where to begin, but the physics, as described in the original post, is wrong. I am going to read the article now, but just remember that Arxiv articles are not peer reviewed before they are posted.
stars.
INSERT INTO comment VALUE('Doh!') WHERE user='you';
that spent several seconds trying to figure out how a deep space probe could possibly have found clues to the origin of a piece of bush administration war propaganda?
Just like the bottom of a swimming pool, the uneven pattern should change over time as the termination shock fluctuates.
So, what they are saying is that their choices aren't simply limited to:
Either you are with us, or you are against us.
Now the axis of evil can chose to be around us instead.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
What the hell? You weren't supposed to explain something complex in simple terms anyone can understand. This is Slashdot. You were supposed to be condescending and use lots of obscure jargon and abbreviations.
For example:
"Idiot! RTFA! If you didn't spend your life just sitting on your fat ass (I bet you are a virgin too) instead of attempting to read the article you would've CLEARLY read that the Zegot axis is the determinate for the UU' and OO' deviations. This is why light is obscured by Heymann variations in a GERT framework. There, even a moron like yourself can understand that."
Next time at least toss in a reference to a cultish Sci-Fi show that is about to be canceled or a jab at someone's choice of operating system.
Is change evil in science now? Or is the implication that the big crunch is on, and Armageddon's next Thursday?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
OK, it's probably silly given that the heliosheath has a drop-off, but...
How do we know there isn't a similar sheath around the galaxy that's similarly affecting observations?
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.
What does this have to do with terrorists? Are these patterns aiding terrorists?
I am sorry, your science is nothing more than heresy. Axis of Evil, as the name implies, similarly to demons pushing plants around to confuse us, is simply an attempt to disrupt holy light from heaven to seed doubt in hearts of the faithful. But of course demon has already failed before it started because our faith is unshakable. And you lost soul, are not getting any grants until you repent!
oh, wait. Is there any easy way to cancel an order for a truckload of New Zealand Sexy Sheep?
I have always thought it would be great if we were to discover that gravity, or the solar wind was messing up our measurements, making things seem father then they really are. We think that most stuff is 1,000s of light years away, but what if we are wrong? What if they are really only a few light years away? We could send unmanned probes on to other star systems on the hundreds of years time frame with current technology.
I am sure there a lots of reasons why this would not work. But something I always though would be really awesome were it to be true.
I could've sworn that 'yaw' was the axis of evil.
That green slime had it coming.
It's one of the basic assumptions of Olbers' paradox, a.k.a. the dark night sky paradox. I suppose that assumption does not work well with the Big Bang model, however.
What jackass dubbed it the "Axis of Evil?"
i was slightly unclear with my question before. it should have read "what leads you to believe the notion of an infinite numbers of stars is correct?" since it appeared that you were taking that as a given in your question. sorry if i misread you there.
i was actually using olber as a justification for the previous post since it's generally used to cast doubt on the notion of infinite stars/infinite non-static universe based on that assumption (hence why it's a paradox).
If I'm immortal, what need do I have for hot green alien nymphomaniac bikini chicks?
So what you're saying is that if not for perpetuating your genes, you cannot think of a reason to have hot green alien nymphomaniac bikini chicks around?
./ but dude - I find your lack of imagination disturbing....
I know this is
Perhaps a better approach to my original question would be:
If one were to argue that there is an infinite amount of stars/matter in the universe, would the light distortions caused by this Axis of Evil be a valid explanation for why the night sky is not filled with an infinite amount of light?
I must confess that I haven't read enough on the Big Bang or any other theory of the universe's creation to have an informed opinion on the matter, so this question may be akin to asking about possible explanations for why ships don't fall off the edge of a flat earth.
EARTH HAS 4 CORNER
SIMULTANEOUS 4-DAY
TIME CUBE
IN ONLY 24 HOUR ROTATION.
4 Corner TIME, CUBES EARTH.
The 12 hour or 1/2 Day clock is an intended EVIL against humanity -
indicting every human on Earth as Dumb, Educated Stupid and Evil -
for imaginary Cubed Earth has 4
Days within simultaneous rotation.
Where the multiverse came from is beyond human experience, and not really a useful question to contemplate.
I don't like this thought because it's no better than creationism at explaining the origins of our Universe... I mean, aaaalllll the way back to the "beginning". Sure, the Big Bang technically explains the origin of our *Universe* and the Multiverse stuff explains how the BB could have occured, but then it introduces a whole new question of origin: the *Multiverse* itself.
:D Heh)
While I (ironically?) agree this stuff is beyond our understanding, we definitely shouldn't write it off as such.
To counter the idea that the shape of the Multiverse is beyond us, I'd like to make this point: To say things are finite, but without understandable origin or properties sounds disingenuous. If we are to accept that we cannot imagine the shape of or understand the origin of the Multiverse, how can anyone describe the finite quantity of the Multiverse with *any* useful certainty whatsoever?
As an (simple) example, M theory explains gravity is a force which is spread throughout the Multiverse (explaining its relatively weak nature). If it were infinitely spread out through infinite quantities of universes -- one could argue it would be infinitely weak; however, it obviously is not since its effects are measurable.
My point with that, is that if we can use observation of gravity in our own universe to provide even circumstantial evidence of its existence, we *can* observe the Multiverse albiet indirectly. Perhaps through this type of indirect observation, might we not be able to discern the shape of the Multiverse? Although I'm (obviously) not a scientist of any sort, I feel like that's a reasonable example of how we may in fact one day be able to understand the shape of the Multiverse... and I'm sure that's an important step toward explaining its origins as well.
Just thinking out loud (Maybe I should stop.
It would be quite a trick if they were. It would be like having a lens here on earth that could turn blue light into green or red light. All that is happening is that the paths of the photons are being bent ever so slightly.
It is true that the bending of the paths is due to the fact that the speed of light changes slightly due to changes in the density of ions but that is entirely different from robbing the photons of energy (which is what "slowing down" means since they are always traveling at the speed of light). If we ignore absorbtion, where photons are completely gobbled up, light passing through a lens conserves energy. If you placed a perfect mirror in their path so the are reflected back at exactly 180 degrees then their speed at any point in the path would be the same as the speed they had going in.
We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.
-- Anais Nin
"Sharpe says the culprit is the Solar System's termination shock where the outflowing supersonic wind from the Sun is slowed to subsonic speeds by interstellar winds."
I don't understand what super/sub"sonic" is in the vacuum of space? What significance is the speed of sound in a vacuum?
Culture20's wife / girlfriend / hot green alien nymphomaniac bikini chick.
It means the Axis of Evil is very far away from Little George's idea of Iraq-Iran-North Korea. Of course, Bush being wrong no longer surprises anyone, even when he's off by 100 AU.
OMG an abstract written in Word!!! That's the real Axis of Evil!!!
I am still stuck at the "something from nothing" question.
This is probably the most vexing question in all philosophy. The way I tend to look at it is why is there anything at all? Why does anything exist? Could all of existence/Multiverse whatever simply not be there
It gives me a headache just thinking about it.
The most dangerous drug