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February 23, 2005

Dark Matter Galaxy Discovered?

It's an "invisible galaxy":

Astronomers have discovered an invisible galaxy that could be the first of many that will help unravel one of the universe's greatest mysteries.
The object appears to be made mostly of "dark matter," material of an unknown nature that can't be seen.

Theorists have long said most of the universe is made of dark matter. Its presence is required to explain the extra gravitational force that is observed to hold regular galaxies together and that also binds large clusters of galaxies.

...

"From the speed [the "invisible galaxy"] is spinning, we realized that VIRGOHI21 was a thousand times more massive than could be accounted for by the observed hydrogen atoms alone," Minchin said. "If it were an ordinary galaxy, then it should be quite bright and would be visible with a good amateur telescope."

...

Dark matter makes up about 23 percent of the universe's mass-energy budget. Normal matter, the stuff of stars, planets and people, contributes just 4 percent. The rest of the universe is driven by an even more mysterious thing called dark energy.

Great. Just what I needed. Invisible f'n' galaxies and "dark energy."

You know who I blame?

Jeff Gannon. That's who.

I'll have to ask him about this. And if there's any Rovian hijinks going on with these supermassive invisible cosmic objects.

posted by Ace at 03:29 PM

Comments

There once was a blogger named Ace
Who knew how to cut to the chase.
A story he's plannin'
(Along with Jeff Gannon)
About Rovian hijinks in space.

Posted by: Stumbo on February 23, 2005 04:14 PM

Modern science is amazing. Truly there are few questions left to be answered, save the age old quesion of what happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object.

While mathematics attempts to provide the proof, I think anyone here at Ace of Spades who has looked into his heart already knows the answer.

Jeff
freakin'
Gannon

Posted by: The Warden on February 23, 2005 04:19 PM

Ace, sadly, that's the best question yet. Heh.

Posted by: fat kid on February 23, 2005 04:28 PM

You know, I always found the concepts of dark matter, dark energy, and whatnot to be a little too convenient.

Maybe I am completely out to lunch, but when you have to propose some incredibly hard to detect phenomena to explain the shortfalls in your theory... well, the theory might be wrong. Then again, extending one's Earth based pragmatism onto the unimaginably vast remainder of the universe is pretty silly, too.

Posted by: Nathan S. on February 23, 2005 04:37 PM

I've been meaning to ask: can you use dark energy to lighten the load? And...what color is dark matter, anyway?

Posted by: Cheese_tensor on February 23, 2005 04:45 PM

I just know there's an Oliver Willis joke somewhere in that statement about dark matter making up 23% of the universe's mass-energy budget. We know for certain he's not contributing any gray matter.

Posted by: bullwinkle on February 23, 2005 06:30 PM

Gannon is not to blame here. Quite the opposite.

In a narrow, micro-scale sense, Gannon is but a man. A journalist at that. But on the larger scale of the cosmos, Gannon can more aptly be thought of as a force; a force pervading all, animate and inanimate. Top physicists already suspect that where Gannon is not, there you will find dark matter. In short, Gannon is that which provides the possibility of 'being.'

Perhaps next time you so quickly rush to curse Gannon, you will think it through and curse his absence instead.

Posted by: Ray Midge on February 23, 2005 07:30 PM

The object appears to be made mostly of "dark matter," material of an unknown nature that can't be seen.

I guess that rules out dooky.

A "galaxy" of dark matter would seem to rule out theorized exotic forms of matter--WIMPS, in other words. I see no reason for WIMPS to congregate in a ghetto. If they exist, WIMPS hang out in and around regular galaxies. Probably brown dwarfs, planets and such.

But not dooky.

Posted by: rdbrewer on February 23, 2005 07:31 PM

I don't know about you, but this scares the crap out of me. Sometime in the not too distant future, the dark matter aliens are going to come for us, with their dark energy laser beams. It's us or them.

Posted by: John on February 23, 2005 08:01 PM

I think Darth Vader said it best: "You don't know the POWER of the Dark Side!"

Posted by: Enas Yorl on February 23, 2005 09:31 PM

Great. Just what I needed. Invisible f'n' galaxies and "dark energy."

I know bullwinkle already made the Oliver Willis joke, but why you gotta be hatin' on the "dark energy," ace?

Racist.

Posted by: Sean M. on February 23, 2005 11:44 PM

Dark matter? Can't be seen?
Ace, you're right on the edge of it. Karl Rove is from that Dark Matter Galaxy with all kinds of Dark Powers!!!!!! Since he can't be seen he must be wearing a human like a coat.

That would make him like a cross between Superman and the bug in MIB wearing an "Edgar suit".

Just don't tell Hinchey.

Posted by: Veeshir on February 24, 2005 06:34 AM

Look around, people. This site is loaded with dork matter. It is practically throbbing with dork energy.

Just because dork matter can't be seen, doesn't mean it isn't real. And it is most certainly the explanation for the bizarre phenomena occurring on this site.

Posted by: lauraw on February 24, 2005 11:33 AM

Is it possible that Ace is from the invisible dork matter galaxy?
That would explain so much.

Posted by: lauraw on February 24, 2005 11:36 AM

Nathan:

It seems to be the "god of the gaps" for physicists. Most aggressively secular scientists criticize religious people for believing in God in the "God used the process of evolution" angle (setting asite biblical literalists). Yet in all too many fields, they engage in "gap filling" based on pure speculation and faith.
A bit inconsistent to me, but what the hell, I'm a lawyer, not a mathmatician

Posted by: hobgoblin on February 24, 2005 12:36 PM

Nathan and Hobgob:

Dark matter comes in two forms, WIMPS and MACHOs. Weakly Interactive Massive Particles are theorized exotic forms of matter with large mass and almost no interaction with baryonic matter (us)--except via the force of gravity. MAssive Compact Halo Objects are planets, dark stars, brown dwarfs, etc. Regular shit, in other words. This part of the theory doesn't ring of gap filling.

These two theories have been competing for quite some time. If they found a "dark galaxy," then MACHOs win--even though the existence of WIMPS isn't completely ruled out. And it may even be a combination of both, but that looks much less likely now. (Just my opinion based on things I picked up driving a cab.)

And, DUH, machos always beat wimps. I could have told them that 20 years ago.

Dark energy, on the other hand, is even weirderer. But I wouldn't refer to these things as examples of faith. They're theories. That's how the scientific process moves forward. Theories compete. Strong theories live, weak ones die.

Posted by: rdbrewer on February 24, 2005 02:44 PM

"Dayamn, look at the big brain on brewer!"

Posted by: hobgoblin on February 25, 2005 12:34 PM

Posted by: on June 6, 2005 08:36 PM

Posted by: on June 6, 2005 09:12 PM