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."

3 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 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'
  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'