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ESA Discovers Unexpected 'Haze' of Microwave Transmissions

astroengine writes "The European space observatory Planck has discovered something peculiar about our galaxy: it's humming in microwaves and, for the moment, the source of the 'hard' radiation surrounding the galaxy's core is a complete mystery. Also, the Milky Way is home to previously unknown 'islands' of cold carbon monoxide gas, helping astronomers uncover the distribution of star-forming regions."

5 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Wifi by Grindalf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Earthings! We all use sci fi wi fi ... You may not question this! :0)

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    The purpose of existence is to make money.
  2. Haze is not new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nice to see some new results from Planck, but the summary is a misleading (and the article itself too, to a lesser degree) when it comes to the haze. This haze was discovered by Planck's predecessor, the WMAP satellite - in fact, it is best known as the WMAP haze. It is true that its cause is unknown, though. People like to speculate that it might be due to annihilation of dark matter particles or other exotic physics, which would be exciting, but I'm partial to something more mundane, like more frequent supernova explosions near the center, as mentioned in the article.

    1. Re:Haze is not new by justforgetme · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, its a carbon "cloud" right?
      Like the ones old cars make?
      Maybe it's just exhaust of an intergalactic chevy camaro?

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  3. "The Question" Answered. by FauxReal · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Why are we here?" To think we finally know the answer to our origin... Our galaxy and everything in it is just some quick heat-n-eat snack for some celestial being. Now that's food for thought.

    1. Re:"The Question" Answered. by jamiesan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes. We ARE Cthulhu's hot pocket.