Possible Dark Matter Signs At the Core

Scientific American has a piece on speculation that dark matter may be behind diffuse radiation in the galactic center. Beginning in 2003, researchers led by Douglas Finkbeiner noticed a curious excess of microwave radiation in the WMAP data, after all known sources of such radiation were accounted for. Data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope resulted in a similar anomaly in gamma rays. "A paper posted to the physics preprint Web site arXiv.org on October 26 and submitted to the Astrophysical Journal points to a possible signature of dark matter in the Milky Way, although the study's authors are careful to keep their observations empirical and table such speculation... In the new paper [the researchers] describe the Fermi gamma-ray haze and make the claim that it confirms the synchrotron origin of the WMAP microwave haze. And as with the microwave haze, the authors argue that the electrons responsible for the gamma-ray haze appear to originate from an unknown astrophysical process. ... 'We are absolutely in the process of exploring the Fermi haze in the context of dark matter physics,' [one of them] says."

Comments

It's a black hole!

[shentino]

Of course it's dark matter in the middle

Re:It's a black hole!

[causality]

Of course it's dark matter in the middle

Dark matter is sort of like violence. If it doesn't work, just use more of it.

Re:It's a black hole!

[Zarf]

You have a profound understanding of Physics. That's exactly what physicists do.

Of course it's dark matter in the middle

Dark matter is sort of like violence. If it doesn't work, just use more of it.

Re:It's a black hole!

[CopaceticOpus]

Black hole and dark matter have very precise meanings in physics.

Just like woosh has a very precise meaning on Slashdot.

And it went a little something like this:

[Gizzmonic]

CAPTAIN KIRK: Spock, come in here, can you make sense of these readings?

SPOCK: Captain, it appears that dark matter may be behind diffuse radiation in the galactic center.

CAPTAIN KIRK: It's the most magnificent thing I've ever seen!

SPOCK: It is...fascinating.

CAPTAIN KIRK: But why would diffuse radiation need a starship?

DR. MCCOY: Come on over here, boys! This galactic dick ain't gonna suck itself!

Thanks for reading and supporting fan fiction.

I like my coffee...

[Anonymous Coward]

...like I like my cosmological hypotheses. Dark, with a nice distribution of heat.

Re:Explanation Impossible

[sleeponthemic]

You're absolutely right. I therefore suggest we call it "Colorless Jesus Powder", in accordance with our new invisible overlord.

Re:Explanation Impossible

[shadowblaster]

GOD: I am defrosting my dinner.

Can we please just call it by its traditional name

[BitZtream]

Magic?

Re:Explanation Impossible

[Dachannien]

The difference is that dark matter and dark energy can be tested for in various ways; a deity can't be.

Well, technically you can test for existence of a deity.... you just can't come back to tell the rest of us about it afterwards.

Re:One word:

[roguetrick]

Welcome to the internet, how long will you be staying?

It just won't cut it

[Anonymous Coward]

Your "Fermi Haze" has rusted my "Occam's Razor," and now I can't cut my "Coulombian Cocaine."

Re:Can we please just call it by its traditional n

[belthize]

Technically dark magic. [-5 overly pedantic]

Re:Explanation Impossible

[xbytor]

>> you just can't come back to tell the rest of us about it afterwards.

You can. You just need to pick the right deity.