Science Astronomers Find First Evidence Of Other Universes - Page 6

**Dave Lane** · 02-11-2014, 08:46 PM

Our cosmos was “bruised” in collisions with other universes. Now astronomers have found the first evidence of these impacts in the cosmic microwave background

There’s something exciting afoot in the world of cosmology. Last month, Roger Penrose at the University of Oxford and Vahe Gurzadyan at Yerevan State University in Armenia announced that they had found patterns of concentric circles in the cosmic microwave background, the echo of the Big Bang.

This, they say, is exactly what you’d expect if the universe were eternally cyclical. By that, they mean that each cycle ends with a big bang that starts the next cycle. In this model, the universe is a kind of cosmic Russian Doll, with all previous universes contained within the current one.

That’s an extraordinary discovery: evidence of something that occurred before the (conventional) Big Bang.

Today, another group says they’ve found something else in the echo of the Big Bang. These guys start with a different model of the universe called eternal inflation. In this way of thinking, the universe we see is merely a bubble in a much larger cosmos. This cosmos is filled with other bubbles, all of which are other universes where the laws of physics may be dramatically different to ours.

These bubbles probably had a violent past, jostling together and leaving “cosmic bruises” where they touched. If so, these bruises ought to be visible today in the cosmic microwave background.

Now Stephen Feeney at University College London and a few pals say they’ve found tentative evidence of this bruising in the form of circular patterns in cosmic microwave background. In fact, they’ve found four bruises, implying that our universe must have smashed into other bubbles at least four times in the past.

Again, this is an extraordinary result: the first evidence of universes beyond our own.

So, what to make of these discoveries. First, these effects could easily be a trick of the eye. As Feeney and co acknowledge: “it is rather easy to fifind all sorts of statistically unlikely properties in a large dataset like the CMB.” That’s for sure!

There are precautions statisticians can take to guard against this, which both Feeney and Penrose bring to bear in various ways.

But these are unlikely to settle the argument. In the last few weeks, several groups have confirmed Penrose’s finding while others have found no evidence for it. Expect a similar pattern for Feeney’s result.

The only way to settle this will be to confirm or refute the findings with better data. As luck would have it, new data is forthcoming thanks to the Planck spacecraft that is currently peering into the cosmic microwave background with more resolution and greater sensitivity than ever.

Cosmologists should have a decent data set to play with in a couple of years or so. When they get it, these circles should either spring into clear view or disappear into noise (rather like the mysterious Mars face that appeared in pictures of the red planet taken by Viking 1 and then disappeared in the higher resolution shots from the Mars Global Surveyor).

Planck should settle the matter; or, with any luck, introduce an even better mystery. In the meantime, there’s going to be some fascinating discussion about this data and what it implies about the nature of the Universe. We’ll be watching.

Ref:

http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.1995: First Observational Tests of Eternal Inflation

http://arxiv.org/abs/1011.3706: Concentric Circles In WMAP Data May Provide Evidence Of Violent Pre-Big-Bang Activity

ThaVirus · 02-12-2014, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I've always thought how cool it would be to be alive when we discovered that there were galaxies other than the Milky Way.

Damn, how old are you?!?

jiveturkey · 02-12-2014, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

This gif just keeps going and going.

Prepare yourselves:

Pollux looks like pure evil. We need to figure out a way to explore these crazy stars.

**Dave Lane** · 02-12-2014, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

I used to be super into the planets, solar system, universe, etc when I was younger. May have to break outmy old telsescope and nerd out.

You have Jupiter Saturn and the Orion Nebula that are easy views right now.

**Dave Lane** · 02-12-2014, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Damn, how old are you?!?

About 80-90 based on that statement

Fish · 02-12-2014, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Pretty incredible and tough to even comprehend.

How far away is the "edge" though? 13+ billion light years? I'm not sure we'll ever see it..

Check this out. Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole episode about that. Full video here:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/throu...-the-universe/

TLO · 02-12-2014, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

You have Jupiter Saturn and the Orion Nebula that are easy views right now.

Too cloudy tonight, might try tomorrow.

Pitt Gorilla · 02-12-2014, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

This gif just keeps going and going.

Prepare yourselves:

can canis majoris play tackle?

Pitt Gorilla · 02-12-2014, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

For a start, how is the existence of the other universes to be tested? To be sure, all cosmologists accept that there are some regions of the universe that lie beyond the reach of our telescopes, but somewhere on the slippery slope between that and the idea that there are an infinite number of universes, credibility reaches a limit. As one slips down that slope, more and more must be accepted on faith, and less and less is open to scientific verification. Extreme multiverse explanations are therefore reminiscent of theological discussions. Indeed, invoking an infinity of unseen universes to explain the unusual features of the one we do see is just as ad hoc as invoking an unseen Creator. The multiverse theory may be dressed up in scientific language, but in essence it requires the same leap of faith.

— Paul Davies, A Brief History of the Multiverse

our instruments get better and better all the time. More and more data should help us with these issues.

**notorious** · 02-12-2014, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

can canis majoris play tackle?

Tough call.

It's existed for billions of years. How much can it really have left in the tank?

Short term deal only. Would sign for only a 1 billion, maybe 2 billion year contract.

TLO · 02-12-2014, 09:59 PM

You ever been to Hutchison, Dave? The observatory there was my favorite place to go as a kid. We spent a lot of weekends down there.

**J Diddy** · 02-12-2014, 10:13 PM

The real question, in my mind, is that if other galaxies exist does that mean the possibility of the big rip is null and void? I mean it appears that if we bump into each other and it causes a retraction then there is no way that it can happen like that....Right?

**J Diddy** · 02-12-2014, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

You have Jupiter Saturn and the Orion Nebula that are easy views right now.

So I'm taking an astronomy class right now and it's not fun. ****ing physics is what it is. I learn some cool shit in lab, but damn.

That being said, I'm learning some things, however we don't touch much on the stargazing. If I were to pick up a telescope do you have any suggestions?

ThaVirus · 02-12-2014, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick Bull

So I'm taking an astronomy class right now and it's not fun. ****ing physics is what it is. I learn some cool shit in lab, but damn.

That being said, I'm learning some things, however we don't touch much on the stargazing. If I were to pick up a telescope do you have any suggestions?

Pop quiz!

What's a Kuiper Belt Object?

**J Diddy** · 02-12-2014, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Pop quiz!

What's a Kuiper Belt Object?

haven't gotten that far yet but I'm going to stab in the dark and say comet waiting to happen once it gets released

**BigRedChief** · 02-12-2014, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

What's a Kuiper Belt Object?

?

02-11-2014, 08:46 PM
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	Astronomers Find First Evidence Of Other Universes Our cosmos was “bruised” in collisions with other universes. Now astronomers have found the first evidence of these impacts in the cosmic microwave background There’s something exciting afoot in the world of cosmology. Last month, Roger Penrose at the University of Oxford and Vahe Gurzadyan at Yerevan State University in Armenia announced that they had found patterns of concentric circles in the cosmic microwave background, the echo of the Big Bang. This, they say, is exactly what you’d expect if the universe were eternally cyclical. By that, they mean that each cycle ends with a big bang that starts the next cycle. In this model, the universe is a kind of cosmic Russian Doll, with all previous universes contained within the current one. That’s an extraordinary discovery: evidence of something that occurred before the (conventional) Big Bang. Today, another group says they’ve found something else in the echo of the Big Bang. These guys start with a different model of the universe called eternal inflation. In this way of thinking, the universe we see is merely a bubble in a much larger cosmos. This cosmos is filled with other bubbles, all of which are other universes where the laws of physics may be dramatically different to ours. These bubbles probably had a violent past, jostling together and leaving “cosmic bruises” where they touched. If so, these bruises ought to be visible today in the cosmic microwave background. Now Stephen Feeney at University College London and a few pals say they’ve found tentative evidence of this bruising in the form of circular patterns in cosmic microwave background. In fact, they’ve found four bruises, implying that our universe must have smashed into other bubbles at least four times in the past. Again, this is an extraordinary result: the first evidence of universes beyond our own. So, what to make of these discoveries. First, these effects could easily be a trick of the eye. As Feeney and co acknowledge: “it is rather easy to fifind all sorts of statistically unlikely properties in a large dataset like the CMB.” That’s for sure! There are precautions statisticians can take to guard against this, which both Feeney and Penrose bring to bear in various ways. But these are unlikely to settle the argument. In the last few weeks, several groups have confirmed Penrose’s finding while others have found no evidence for it. Expect a similar pattern for Feeney’s result. The only way to settle this will be to confirm or refute the findings with better data. As luck would have it, new data is forthcoming thanks to the Planck spacecraft that is currently peering into the cosmic microwave background with more resolution and greater sensitivity than ever. Cosmologists should have a decent data set to play with in a couple of years or so. When they get it, these circles should either spring into clear view or disappear into noise (rather like the mysterious Mars face that appeared in pictures of the red planet taken by Viking 1 and then disappeared in the higher resolution shots from the Mars Global Surveyor). Planck should settle the matter; or, with any luck, introduce an even better mystery. In the meantime, there’s going to be some fascinating discussion about this data and what it implies about the nature of the Universe. We’ll be watching. Ref: http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.1995: First Observational Tests of Eternal Inflation http://arxiv.org/abs/1011.3706: Concentric Circles In WMAP Data May Provide Evidence Of Violent Pre-Big-Bang Activity
Posts: 40,584

02-12-2014, 09:59 PM	#85
TLO Life is changing.. Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Missouri Casino cash: $1364900	You ever been to Hutchison, Dave? The observatory there was my favorite place to go as a kid. We spent a lot of weekends down there.
Posts: 39,288

02-12-2014, 10:13 PM	#86
J Diddy Don't Be A Dick Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Joplin Casino cash: $6537192	The real question, in my mind, is that if other galaxies exist does that mean the possibility of the big rip is null and void? I mean it appears that if we bump into each other and it causes a retraction then there is no way that it can happen like that....Right?
Posts: 33,688