unknownskywalker:
Vast cosmic filament discovered connecting Milky Way to the Universe
Astronomers at The Australian National University have discovered proof of a vast filament of material that connects our Milky Way galaxy to nearby clusters of galaxies, which are similarly interconnected to the rest of the Universe. By examining the positions of globular clusters, they found that the clusters form a narrow plane around the Milky Way rather than being scattered across the sky.
Furthermore, the Milky Way’s entourage of small satellites are seen to inhabit the same plane. This is evidence for the cosmic thread that connects us to the vast expanse of the Universe. The filament of star clusters and small galaxies around the Milky Way is like the umbilical cord that fed our Galaxy during its youth.
A consequence of the Big Bang and the dominance of dark matter is that ordinary matter is driven, like foam on the crest of a wave, into vast interconnected sheets and filaments stretched over enormous cosmic voids – much like the structure of a kitchen sponge. Unlike a sponge, however, gravity draws the material over these interconnecting filaments towards the largest lumps of matter, and the globular clusters and satellite galaxies of the Milky Way trace this cosmic filament.
In the picture, most of these star clusters are the central cores of small galaxies that have been drawn along the filament by gravity. Once these small galaxies got too close the Milky Way the majority of stars were stripped away and added to our galaxy, leaving only their cores. It is thought that the Milky Way has grown to its current size by the consumption of hundreds of such smaller galaxies over cosmic time.
I think I’ve figured out why science isn’t more popular. It’s because of discoveries like these. Science is a tool that, if used properly, is constantly updating with new information. People don’t like change. People like stable rules they can trust to always be there. They pretend that the Bible is God’s unchanging word, despite historical fact to the contrary. So why do they ignore facts and embrace belief? Because facts challenge established norms. Like this story about a vast cosmic filament connecting our galaxy with the rest of the galaxies in our universe. This is a HUGE discovery. It’s like discovering there was a tiny stream of matter connecting you to every other human on the planet. HOW COOL IS THAT?
Unexpected? Surprising? Even a little mind blowing? Sure. But that’s what science does. It’s a tool designed to facilitate learning. The Bible is a 2000 year-old book of instructions written and re-written a few times to reflect the views of those in charge at the time. (Google “Council of Nicaea” for a good example.) Science, however, updates our knowledge almost constantly. In fact, there have been quite a few amazing discoveries in the past ten years that make me think we just might be entering a period of incredible discovery that is only quiet and largely unnoticed because of the general distain Americans have toward science ( I wouldn’t be surprised if we finally find proof of life that didn’t originate on Earth any day now).
I’m growing a new theory about humanity. There’s roughly two kinds of people in the world, those who get off on fear and those who get off on learning. The former are afraid of new things, close minded and prefer 2000 year-old ideas. The latter are interested in being challenged, proved wrong, and therefore, better educated.
So, the next time someone tells you science isn’t as important as war or the economy, tell them to stop being fearful of change. Only science provides the things that revolutionize our way of life. Religion has never done that. Religion didn’t invent the wheel, the steam engine or the integrated circuit. While religion did bring us the pretzel and champaign, it is science that has brought us the computer, the cell phone, lasers, electricity, dark matter, dark energy, dark flow, quantum physics, galaxy-connecting filaments, and soooo much more.
It’s like Carl Sagan once said: why is there an astrology section in the daily paper but no astronomy section? It’s because one reinforces our beliefs and makes us feel good, while the other challenges us, makes us wonder and forces us to consider things so much bigger than ourselves.
And who wants to do that?
I mean, aside from me?
