Posted on 06/26/2014 1:09:34 PM PDT by Red Badger
NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory has found a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers are speculating could signal the presence of dark matter some 240 million light years away from Earth.
A leading theory, NASA reports, is that the X-rays are a result of decaying "sterile neutrinos," which are particles that could potentially produce dark matter. Astronomers believe dark matter accounts for 85 percent of all matter in the universe, but dark matter does not emit or absorb light as does the "normal" matter in planets, stars, and galaxies, so its detection is much more difficult.
NASA notes that normal matter may also have created the emission line, which appeared in the Perseus galaxy cluster, but astronomers are excited at the prospect that the sterile neutrinos may be at play. The scientists' next step will be combining the data with results from other missions to see if the same X-ray signal appears in other galaxy clusters. Thus far, the line has also been found in 73 other galaxy clusters using NASA's XMM-Newton.
"We know that the dark matter explanation is a long shot, but the pay-off would be huge if we're right," Esra Bulbul, leader of the study and a fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told NASA. "We're going to keep testing this interpretation and see where it takes us."
Astronomers have yet to determine what caused the emission, but for now, check out an image of the signal below. --Meghan DeMaria
oops
Georgi? Georgi? Where are you?
I swear it wasn’t anybody I know.
Could be this: http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/48630634d2591
Oh boy, we’re gonna get some good posts on this thread.
Am I the only one who sees the face of Obama in the pic?
It’s right there in the center...big ears, big mouth, empty head...
-.. .-. .. -. -.- — -— .-. . -— ...- .- .-.. - .. -. .
B-E-S-U-R-E-T-O-D-R-I-N-K-Y-O-U-R-O-V-E-L-T-I-N-E
Corrected article:
Desperate to prove the unfounded theory of “dark matter,” some astronomers are wondering if some unexplained signals in the X-ray region could boster the theory.
Although there is nothing to prove a connection, we would really be famous if we could find one.
All public funding for NASA should be stopped, let the free market do this research. stop wasting our tax dollars.
ET is phoning home.
B-U-R-M-A S-H-A-V-E
Zathras knows but can’t tell.
Did it sound like this?
“I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I’m afraid that’s something I cannot allow to happen.”
http://www.wavsource.com/movies/2001.htm
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