Isn't there a universal center that all the galaxies rotate around, like a hurricane?

8/26/2007 10:10:42 PM

a lot of galaxies themselves have black holes around which they rotate...

8/26/2007 10:21:27 PM

^^ i never heard of that.

if what you say is true, are you suggesting they might have found the center of the universe? but if so, then how did people know there was a universal center before this find?

8/26/2007 10:30:41 PM

There are galactic clusters, but as of yet, they haven't found anything around which ALL galaxies rotate.

We are still finding new stuff in space though we didn't think was possible.

8/26/2007 10:46:00 PM

^^ I've never heard of it either, but it would make sense. All these galaxy clusters are moving in respect to each other, there has to be something causing them to move. You'd imagine over time the galaxy clusters would arrange themselves into some sort of orbit such their gravitational interactions means they rotate and there's "nothing" in the middle.

Electrons rotate around a nucleus. Massive storm clouds rotate around a central eye. Moons rotate around a central planet. Planets rotate around a central star. Stars rotate around a central black hole.

[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 10:55 PM. Reason : .]

8/26/2007 10:49:29 PM

I get turned on by big dark matter sucking gaping holes as well

8/26/2007 10:52:22 PM

i like this thread. its like a human filtered RSS feed (which can be good and bad) so i don't have to actually hunt down interesting scientific topics.

8/26/2007 11:53:11 PM

^^ That's pretty flawed logic of why everything should be spinning around something.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6853229782643384244&q=model+galaxy+collision&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
Video of model of how galaxies MIGHT form. There are lots of things spinning around other things, but there doesn't necessarily have to have all things spinning around ONE thing, and over time, such a system would break down anyway.

8/26/2007 11:54:15 PM

Interesting, but what will likely be more interesting is what's behind the hole. If I understand correctly this spot would be darker than other directions, this means we can see even further in the direction of this void. Which is of course very cool since that means we might get to see some new cosmic structures. Its worked before.

As far as the galatic center goes, I think that's an open question. Nobody knows, but the current mathematics assumes no center or boundary for global spacetime. Of course math and true physical reality need not be the same and we can only observe so far, who's to say what is beyond that ? It's turtles all the way down, or maybe you go for the Simpson's Homer-centric view...

8/27/2007 1:32:06 AM

I think you mean universal center. There are definitely galactic centers.

[Edited on August 27, 2007 at 1:46 AM. Reason : fgh]

8/27/2007 1:44:38 AM

This story is not really new, but is actually a few years old.

Scientists Now Know: We're Not From Here!
http://www.viewzone.com/milkyway.html

Astronomers from the University of Virgina and the University of Massachusetts have found that Sol (our sun) actually "belongs" to another galaxy and we are at the nexus of them. It explains why our solar system is not oriented to the Milky Way's ecliptic like we should be if we originated from here. There is also information on how Sagittarius is being absorbed by the Milky Way. This knowledge raises some interesting insights into "dark matter". The article can also be found here: http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2003/18/milky_way.html

[Edited on August 27, 2007 at 4:17 AM. Reason : duplicate link fix]

8/27/2007 4:15:56 AM

wow that's pretty interesting. i hadn't read that before.

8/27/2007 8:51:27 AM

Quote :

"I think you mean universal center. There are definitely galactic centers."

oops, my bad, , thanks.

[Edited on August 27, 2007 at 8:58 AM. Reason : .]

8/27/2007 8:57:43 AM

Hate to break the cosmology, but I saw this on BBC this morning...
nullhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6962450.stm
Kind of interesting...I suppose

8/27/2007 12:11:34 PM

maybe the center of the universe is concentrated time or something fucking crazy

that'd be sweeet

8/27/2007 1:51:15 PM

i don't think :carlface: is says enough here....

8/27/2007 2:36:03 PM

Yea.....I don't really know what was going on there.

8/27/2007 2:58:57 PM

Sorry to rain on the cosmological parade, but the "void" in space isn't as exotic as the news articles would have you believe. On large scales, entire galaxies cluster together. If they cluster together in some places, then there must be other places where they are not present. We refer to these as "voids." It is not a hole in space. This void is no different from many others that have been discovered, it's just the largest one yet.

Here's a nice page that explains it. The next to last image on the page shows the clumping and voiding of the universe out to a distance of 500 million light years.

http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/gal_lss.html

8/28/2007 12:15:19 AM

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/08/28/bugdna_pla_print.html

600,000 year old bacteria collected from the Siberain permafrost respire and repair their DNA.

8/31/2007 2:20:47 PM

Cleaning products 'wheezing link'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4115617.stm

Quote :

"Exposure to cleaning products while in the womb could be linked to persistent wheezing in young children, University of Bristol research suggests. Experts looked at families' use of a range of products such as bleach, paint stripper and carpet cleaners. Children born into the 10% of families which used these products the most were twice as likely to suffer from wheezing as those who used the least. "

Real Flying Saucer Eyed by Defense Dept.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/10/12/flyingsaucer_tec.html

Quote :

"The disc-shaped device can take off vertically from any surface, land practically anywhere, and if it accidentally contacts a building or cliff, it won't explode into a fireball, like those rascally helicopters. Although flying saucers are a favorite among extra terrestrials, Earthbound engineers have had a more difficult time getting the vehicles off the ground. Some designs will hover, but they can't move up or down to navigate over a hill or building, for example. Other designs do not lend themselves to maneuverability or steering. Hatton's design accomplishes both."

Bacteria Cause Chocolate Cravings

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/10/12/chocolate-craving-hea.html

Quote :

"A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure. The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL."

Chocolate 'aids fatigue syndrome'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7018055.stm

Quote :

"A daily dose of specially-formulated dark chocolate may help cut chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms. Patients in a pilot study found they had less fatigue when eating dark chocolate with a high cocoa content than with white chocolate dyed brown. Professor Atkin said he was very surprised at the strength of the results. "Although it was a small study, two patients went back to work after being off for six months." He explained: "Dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, which have been associated with health benefits such as a reduction in blood pressure. "Also high polyphenols appear to improve levels of serotonin in the brain, which has been linked with chronic fatigue syndrome and that may be a mechanism." "

Old, but good:

Why Great Minds Can't Grasp Consciousness

http://www.livescience.com/health/050808_human_consciousness.html

10/15/2007 6:50:17 AM