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Space Tycoon

08-23-2007, 06:16 PM

I honestly didn't see this one coming. Just when you thought nothing could surprise you anymore...

The universe has a huge hole in it that dwarfs anything else of its kind. (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070823_huge_hole.html)

The discovery caught astronomers by surprise.

The hole is nearly a billion light-years across. It is not a black hole, which is a small sphere of densely packed matter. Rather, this one is mostly devoid of stars, gas and other normal matter, and it's also strangely empty of the mysterious "dark matter" that permeates the cosmos. Other space voids have been found before, but nothing on this scale.

Astronomers don't know why the hole is there.... (continued)

http://a52.g.akamaitech.net/f/52/827/1d/www.space.com/images/070823_huge_hole_02.jpg

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Gentlemen Death

08-23-2007, 06:57 PM

Maybe it is a huge UFO coming our way.....Creepy stuff, Space...:cool:

spammityspam

08-23-2007, 07:54 PM

Correction: the UFOs stole it. This is the crop circle of the cosmos!

Gentlemen Death

08-23-2007, 08:06 PM

Correction: the UFOs stole it. This is the crop circle of the cosmos!

Damnit....I should have known....Thanks, Spammy...:)

colmatrix

08-23-2007, 08:58 PM

X-Files 2 anyone? The missing stars mystery? Mulder will crack it.

Bill_the_Pony

08-23-2007, 09:39 PM

Can't leave anything laying around these days. :mad:

Space Tycoon

08-23-2007, 11:14 PM

Well, I actually think this is kind of important.

What can you say about a vast....vast.... hole in the universe?

I mean, what are the implications?

What does that tell us about our own cherished beliefs? What does that tell us about God, or Allah, or whomever?

I'm reminded of Joe Haldane's famous remark: "The Universe is not only stranger than we think... but stranger than we can think."

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spammityspam

08-23-2007, 11:25 PM

Maybe it just... means that there's nothing there?

I mean, it's space, after all.

Space Tycoon

08-23-2007, 11:42 PM

Yeah, but...

you know...

it's just...

a lot of space.....man........

Like, a lot of it.

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DarkJedi

08-24-2007, 12:15 AM

I'm curious on what the scientists will take out of finding this out there...I know we have a lot of Dark Matter discussions going on but I was under the impression that Dark Matter can't actually be seen from a recent Discovery show on the Universe...Can it?

The fact that it can be seen means something phenomenal. I agree with Space on this one...It's a rather big deal because the implications of its presence throws things up in the air.

Woodwraith

08-24-2007, 12:18 AM

This is truly a deep subject

spammityspam

08-24-2007, 12:47 AM

But I thought the article was remarkable because they said there wasn't dark matter in the spot? It's really just a hole, not a different kind of chunk of stuff.

I don't think dark matter can be seen so much as there's stuff that lets you know it's there -- like, you can't actually see black holes because they even suck light in, but you can see where they must be.

Maybe this space is what's left after a black hole dies? I don't see why one would have died, though. But if one could, it might leave a hole like this.

I really need to take an astronomy class.

DarkJedi

08-24-2007, 01:03 AM

That's why Dark Matter is so debated in the scientific community...especially its role in our universe.

This phenomenon that Space has linked us to above though...Considerably more complicated to figure out.

Where does this hole lead to? I guess it could have the same answer as a black hole but I find it a bit freaky just thinking about it..

Can you imagine flying through space and there's just a hole of darkness in front of you?...You don't even see it...Not like a gravitational black hole which you can detect. Just imagine flying through space and a hole (much like the article says) pops up out of nowhere and you fly right into it. What happens when asteroids or objects fly into it? Will this kind of phenomenon expand and eat up other space? It came from somewhere, right? It expanded from something smaller, right?

Damn, this article is giving me the creeps...

I can't wait to hear more about this thing.

spammityspam

08-24-2007, 01:35 AM

I don't think it's a hole so much as it is a space -- it wouldn't be remarkable if it were just another supermassive black hole (except in that respect). They're all getting excited because there's just nothing there, no gravitational pull or energy source or anything. It's the great vacant lot on the creepy outskirts of town; it can't suck you in (probably). It's just there for you to wander into and out of provided you can travel billions of times faster than the speed of light.

hawklord

08-24-2007, 01:47 AM

It's another legacy of Tony Blair's government. Now even the universe is falling apart :lol:

MPG

08-24-2007, 04:53 AM

I don't think it's a hole so much as it is a space
Exactly. The word "hole" is misleading, because it doesn't actually "lead anywhere". It's just empty space.

So to answer DJ's question as to what happens when an asteroid flies into it: In that case, it's no longer empty.

This thing doesn't really bother me so much, because when I was first taught about the universe, I was told that most of it is empty, just like this part of space. Then people came along and said "Oh there's dark matter though!" Ok, so the cosmos isn't empty. Now people are saying "But some parts are actually empty!" So what? I don't care. :D

sickness

08-24-2007, 08:32 AM

A giant hole in the universe? Britney's gone intergalactic??!

southpaw

08-24-2007, 11:58 AM

I call dibs on the giant hole in the universe.

rappites

08-24-2007, 02:54 PM

If you can fill said hole. I have dibs on you. :)

Bill_the_Pony

08-24-2007, 03:43 PM

This is much ado about nothing. :Tongue:

DarkJedi

08-24-2007, 03:48 PM

Well, if it's a hole of nothing...You have a point.

Nostromo

08-25-2007, 09:20 AM

We've discovered the Borg! And now they know where we are. :eek: N

Daltons Chin Dimple

08-29-2007, 02:32 AM

Now, i am the least religious person in the world so I am not trying to start a religious bun fight here but....

....isn't there something in the Book of Revelations about this ?

tstone

08-29-2007, 04:37 AM

Burn, heretic...um, I mean...carry on...

:lol:

spammityspam

08-29-2007, 11:23 AM

I don't think there is, but my memory of Sunday School isn't the best. Besides, a lot of Biblical scholars think that Revelations isn't really about the ending times as much as it is about the political situation of the day. Or that John was on drugs.

Al-Dog

08-29-2007, 12:59 PM

If only the US had signed the Kyoto treaty.

Gentlemen Death

08-29-2007, 05:41 PM

I like holes....:cool:

Space Tycoon

08-29-2007, 06:09 PM

You Americans.... :shakehead:

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chemikillgod

08-29-2007, 06:43 PM

I like holes....:cool:

Evidence that God is a woman? :p

Bill_the_Pony

08-29-2007, 08:37 PM

You Americans.... :shakehead:

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:(

Could you please be more specific?

Al-Dog

08-30-2007, 06:42 AM

I believe he’s saying that United States policies are to blame for the hole in space. :OhWell:

Bark

08-30-2007, 11:11 AM

That's a pretty !@#$in' big sphere of influence.

sickness

08-30-2007, 01:13 PM

Shit, Spacey. Don't you think we'd be bragging if we had that kind of pull? That's like saying you're hung like a moose and wouldn't announce it to the world or at least every girl you ever date.

Space Tycoon

08-30-2007, 04:26 PM

I was just responding to GD's comment... (http://www.mania.com/forums/showthread.php?p=80336&mode=threaded#post80336)

I knew I was asking for trouble by putting the word "hole" in the title. :anismirk:

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Bark

08-31-2007, 06:24 AM

Nostromo

08-31-2007, 02:08 PM