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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.
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?
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
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.
Well yeah, there was the 'silly political reference' - but most importantly, the pattern implies that the universe, which should be anisotropic, has a shape. In fact, according to measurements of the Axis, the entire universe is pointing in a particular direction (the 'axis' part). And that goes against a helluva lot of cosmological theory, hence the 'evil' part.
It is left as an exercise for the user to determine why the word 'of' was included in the name.
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.
Just like the bottom of a swimming pool, the uneven pattern should change over time as the termination shock fluctuates.
Nah, that's good and scientific.
Religious: "According to my faith, that shouldn't be there. So it's not. la-La-LA, I can't HEAR YOU!"
Scientific: "According to my theory, that shouldn't be there. But it is. So what's wrong with my theory?"
There's not necessarily a conflict between "shouldn't be" and "unexpected". It's "unexpected" because it "shouldn't be".
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Fixed
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
Not that the Voyagers aren't tough, but saying that is a disservice to the Mars rovers, many of which have kept going long after their original missions were complete. No, none of them have lasted as long as either Voyager, but the environmental factors aren't really the same either.
I completely agree - and it's worth noting that we're talking about a spacecraft launched in 1977 - so it's flying tech is even older.
Not only that - our ground tech is truly incredible.
The power received at an earth antenna is 1e-16 watts - imagine finding and holding that signal in the cosmic background noise!
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/didyouknow.html
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.
It also seems kind of silly to call the data "evil" when it's the current scientific model that is at fault. The name almost implies, "Damn it, universe! Do what we want you to do!"
I could've sworn that 'yaw' was the axis of evil.
That green slime had it coming.
Let's test that theory: start a rumor that Michael Vick is starting a website called "slashdog".
Table-ized A.I.