A deep optical image of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 090429B, arguably the most distant object known in the universe.
Posted on 07/18/2011 12:34:14 PM PDT by Red Badger
The most distant objects in the universe are also the oldest -- or at least that is how they appear to us, because their light has had to travel for billions of years to get here. They are also extraordinarily faint since they are so far away, and only in the last decade have astronomers been able to stretch their vision using the newest telescopes and clever techniques.
One such innovation occurred with the launch of the NASA Swift satellite in 2004; it searches for bursts of gamma-ray emission, called GRBs. These flashes, thought to result from the especially spectacular deaths of massive stars, are the brightest events in the cosmos during their brief (only seconds-long) existence. But because they are so bright, they can be seen even when they are very, very far away.
A large international team of astronomers including CfA astronomers Edo Berger, Alicia Soderberg, and Ryan Foley used the Swift satellite to spot a GRB that rapid, ground-based followup studies determined was possibly the most distant object known (but measurement uncertainties allow a few other candidates to compete for this title). The light from this object has been traveling towards us for about 13.2 billion years, or 96% of the age of the universe. Since the universe is not static but expanding, today this object is much farther away than 13.2 billion light-years - more like about thirty billion light-years.
The scientists were unable to detect any faint trace of the putative galaxy in which this massive star once lived, helping to confirm the great distance of this GRB. Other important details in their new paper confirm that the object is similar to more nearby GRBs, and consequently that - even at this early stage of cosmic life - at least some stars already resembled stars in our local universe.
Provided by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
A deep optical image of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 090429B, arguably the most distant object known in the universe.
Ping!.............
This could actually be Lady Gaga's epitaph, if one were necessary.
Helen Thomas pictures by the 10th post!
The Democrat connection to the American people outside the beltway?
Still closer than Obama’s Birth Certificate.
Far out man.
This thing realy has astronomical theorists freaking out. They are losing sleep over it. It is so huge and powerful that it defies the imagination. It should not even exist.
Its event horizon is big enough to contain millions of our suns.It also means that black holes may occur instantly, they do not need a lot of time to develop.
I know who they are............but what is the significance?.................
You were right!.................#9..............
...If only I had as much luck playing the lottery!
180,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles.
That would put it BEFORE the Big Bang...................odd............
Could be one little ... tiny universe.
“180,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles.”
Guess I’d better wait for the price of gas to drop before I go for a visit.
"Living with his blue-blooded mother, played by Doris Packer, in a mansion surrounded by a wall embedded with broken glass to keep out the riff-raff, Chatsworth was a fey overachiever who couldn't understand how "dregs" like Dobie and Maynard always seemed to get the best of him. After all, Chatsworth was the president of the Silver Spoon Club, his blood type was "R" for "Royal" and he spoke 18 different languages including a dialect of Mandarin found only on certain vases! Although he was filthy rich, his mother (who always referred to him as "you nasty, nasty boy") insisted that he attend public schools to round out his personality, so he was forced to maintain uneasy relationships with Dobie (who he condescendingly called "Dobie-do") and the rest of his classmates."
Hence, Chatsworth Osborne Jr. is the most distant object known in the universe.
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