Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Distant Stellar Explosion Helps Map Universe's Dark Ages

Posted by samzenpus on from the in-the-beginning dept.

sciencehabit (1205606) writes "Near the beginning, the universe was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. That's because until about a billion years after the big bang, there were no galaxies or stars to illuminate the heavens, which were then filled primarily with neutral hydrogen gas. But a rare ultra–high-energy stellar explosion called a gamma ray burst has offered a new glimpse into this obscure period—the so-called cosmic dark ages—and may help nail down precisely when it ended. A new study of the explosion's afterglow suggests that such neutral hydrogen abounded a billion years after the big bang, so the dark ages weren't quite over then."

10 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. If you didn't ge the joke in TFS... by MrLogic17 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since not everyone went to Sunday School, TFS is referencing Genesis chapter 1 verse 1.

    I'd read you the verse proper, but since verse 2 hasn't been quoted yet, it's too dark to read...

    1. Re:If you didn't ge the joke in TFS... by gringer · · Score: 2

      Since not everyone went to Sunday School, TFS is referencing Genesis chapter 1 verse 1.

      I'd read you the verse proper, but since verse 2 hasn't been quoted yet, it's too dark to read...

      You have an off-by-one error. Verses in the bible don't begin at zero.

      --
      Ask me about repetitive DNA
    2. Re:If you didn't ge the joke in TFS... by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Funny

      They did; until a Basic programmer (Satan) screwed up a copy loop.

      It's a central belief of 'The Church of Christ, Computer Programmer'. Can I get a Semicolon from the congregation?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re:If you didn't ge the joke in TFS... by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

      I don't think it was lost on anyone. It's funny because it was an incredibly accurate description of the beginning of time from a document thats nearly 4000 years old, before they even know what stars, time or space were. The concept of "Formless and Void" are incredibly advanced topics for the time period it was written in. We had no concept of "Void" at the time.

  2. I don't understand something by mark-t · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If the universe is 13.8 billion years old, and the universe went through a dark period that was supposedly a billion years long, then why can we detect objects that are as far as 13.3 billion light years away? Shouldn't everything past about 12.8 billion light years be.... well... dark?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    1. Re:I don't understand something by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Informative

      why can we detect objects that are as far as 13.3 billion light years away?

      "...years ago", rather than "light years away," really. The light has taken 13.3 billion light years to get here, but the source was closer than 13.3 billion light years away when the light was emitted, and is further than 13.3 billion lights years now* (by about 3-4 times).

      *for a certain value of "now"

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:I don't understand something by CheshireDragon · · Score: 2

      Spacetime is expanding at a very high rate. In that expansion the light emitted had a larger space to cross in order to get here. Therefor it would take longer for it get here than just the 5bn yrs. I been reading your comments and some of the folks here have been giving you great examples and explaining things perfectly. It is hard to grasp some of this if you are not a Physics/science major. Take a few entry level Physics classes, shit watch the new Cosmos show(or How the Universe Works is a great one) and it'll even put things in more basic terms to understand this. I am not being a dick by saying this. I said the same thing to my mother about 15yrs ago on taking a Computers 101 class so she could get the basic usage of a computer down and it worked wonders for her. This may very well help you understand this wonderful universe we live in. :)

      OH OH, there is also a lecture on YouTube, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, search for "My Favorite Universe" in youtube and it should bring it up. It's a 12 part series. He also has a more current one on Netflix. I can't remember the name at the moment, but it is 6 parts.

      --
      "That's right...I said it."
  3. Cosmic Background Radiation by blue+trane · · Score: 2

    Doesn't the CMB indicate that re-ionisation occured much earlier, with the latest redshift being 7 which is well before a billion years since the Big Bang?

    The discrepancy between CMB measurements and quasar measurements of reionization is presented in Week 5 of Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe.

  4. Re:Worlds highest minimum wage! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Entry level workers get a job at McDonald’s at 25 smackers an hour to start working.

    Trade school trained mechanic, after a few years in the field, is earning that or not much more. Not only does his hamburger shoot up to about 10-12 dollars for a combo, all costs for everything slowly rise like boats in a harbor with the incoming tide. He asks his boss for a raise, because he deserves more pay than some entry level laborer, and the cost of his companies business goes up. And now, the 25 dollar an hour worker at McDonalds is paying more to Mr. Trade School Mechanic to get their car worked on.

  5. dark for first 100 million years, not billion by rubycodez · · Score: 2

    first stars are 100 million years after big bang, by the time 1 billion years passed galaxies were everywhere