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90% of the Universe Found Hiding In Plain View

Posted by timothy on from the that-tricky-universe dept.

The Bad Astronomer writes "As much as 90% of previously hidden galaxies in the distant Universe have been found by astronomers using the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Previous surveys had looked for distant (10 billion light years away) galaxies by searching in a wavelength of ultraviolet light emitted by hydrogen atoms — distant young galaxies should be blasting out this light, but very few were detected. The problem is that the ultraviolet light never gets out of the galaxies, so we never see them. In this new study, astronomers searched a different wavelength emitted by hydrogen, and voila, ten times as many galaxies could be seen, meaning 90% of them had been missed before."

6 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. I Smell Another Apple Ad by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Interesting

    90% of the Universe was discovered by thinking differently? Steve Jobs just felt a tingle somewhere.

    1. Re:I Smell Another Apple Ad by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And how do they know that they've found 90% of what was previously hidden?

      Maybe there's more hidden than they thought was hidden.

      Is the size of the universe so widely agreed-upon? Far be it from me to challenge a headline in Science, but I'm just a little curious about this assertion.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:I Smell Another Apple Ad by Shikaku · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If one of the theories concerning the universe holds true about the size and how it works, looking at one point can cause visual feedback.

      The theory is that if you go straight with a velocity with no force ever effecting you you would return to your previous point eventually. In short the universe is curved into itself and like on a planet traveling in 1 direction on the planet returns you to your starting point.

      If you look at one point in the universe I would not be surprised if you saw galaxies and objects that are behind you, as well as repeats of galaxies in front of you!

  2. Someone update the Drake Equation! by scorp1us · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Since we just got a 10 fold increase in galaxies.

    I think that moves us from 0.006 to 0.06, (plus one obviously)

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    Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
  3. What's at the end of the Universe? by xednieht · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So.... once we see the remaining 10% we will have reached the "end" of the universe?

    --

    Hope is the currency of fools
  4. Re:Implications for dark matter estimates? by sunspot42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    90% of the matter in the Universe is in a form that emits no light, but affects other matter through gravity.

    Do we know for certain that the "dark matter" itself - whatever it proves to be - is actually in our universe? Is it possible that "dark matter" is just regular matter in some other universe(s) whose gravity is bleeding into our own?