Life Ghost Universe
posted by January 23 at 15:12 PM
onResearchers from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) have released a map of dark matter that they created with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope. On the left is regular old light matter (good enough for me, dammit) and on the right is the dark matter that we can only see through its gravitational effects on light matter. But as the article says, “most cosmologists believe dark matter plays a crucial role in how large structures such as galaxies emerged after the Big Bang.” So there’s something we can’t see, smell, touch, hear, or taste, and it is essential in the formation of life as we know it. Worrisome.
What’s more: I’m having trouble getting this image out of my head. I see poltergeists here. Spirits, ghouls, the undead scarifying the universe. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d prefer a world composed solely of comprehensible light matter. But I guess we’re way past that now.
You can read about it here, but I warn you, it’s unsettling.
Comments
"So there’s something we can’t see, smell, touch, hear, or taste, and it is essential in the formation of life as we know it. Worrisome."
You can't see, smell, etc protons, neutrons, electrons or any of the other standard particles either, and they are arguably more essential to life as we know it.
And of course, just because we can't detect dark matter (or any other form of matter in its elemental state) with our limited sensory organs, doesn't mean its not detectible using more sensitive instruments.
Just sayin', in case anybody from the Religious crowd tries to use your statement as some sort of lame justification for the existence of a diety.
Good point, Chris. But what I'm worried about (and partly I was just trying to be funny) is that we know (pretty much) what those elementary particles have to do with life as we know it. Dark matter is still a mystery.
And yes, COMTE, our sensory organs are rather limited. That picture's still pretty creepy.
So, even space appears to be fairly evenly divided between red states and blue states, but leaning red. I agree that the amount of blue is worrisome and unsettling.
Dude, you can only perceive a small segement of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is a tiny portion of it, infrared radiation is perceived as heat, and the rest of it it completely imperceptible to us. We infer it's there because you get cancer or can cook TV dinners quickly.
How the hell did they get "COSMOS" from "Cosmic Evolution Survey?" People play too damn fast and easy with their acronyms.
It's probably a bunch of psychic residue left over from when God (or Allah, if you prefer) blew himself up for the Big Bang.
Worrisome maybe, but hey, it pays the wages.
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