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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end.
The structure is a large quasar group (LQG), a collection of extremely luminous galactic nuclei powered by supermassive central black holes. This particular group is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers said.
"While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG, we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe," lead author Roger Clowes, of the University of Central Lancashire in England, said in a statement. "This is hugely exciting, not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the scale of the universe."
Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe. For decades, astronomers have known that they tend to assemble in huge groups, some of which are more than 600 million light-years wide.
But the record-breaking quasar group, which Clowes and his team spotted in data gathered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, is on another scale altogether. The newfound LQC is composed of 73 quasars and spans about 1.6 billion light-years in most directions, though it is 4 billion light-years across at its widest point.
To put that mind-boggling size into perspective, the disk of the Milky Way galaxy — home of Earth's solar system — is about 100,000 light-years wide. And the Milky Way is separated from its nearest galactic neighbor, Andromeda, by about 2.5 million light-years.
The newly discovered LQC is so enormous, in fact, that theory predicts it shouldn't exist, researchers said. The quasar group appears to violate a widely accepted assumption known as the cosmological principle, which holds that the universe is essentially homogeneous when viewed at a sufficiently large scale.
Calculations suggest that structures larger than about 1.2 billion light-years should not exist, researchers said.
"Our team has been looking at similar cases which add further weight to this challenge, and we will be continuing to investigate these fascinating phenomena," Clowes said.
The new study was published today (Jan. 11) in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Quasars are essentially the escaping energy generated outside the event horizon of a super-massive black hole. The escaping energy is propelled vertically by gravitational stresses and immense friction of incoming material towards the black hole, making Quasars the most luminous, powerful, and energetic objects known in the universe.
The fool says in his heart there is no God, but by God he means ‘that thing then which no greater thing can be conceived’. But by conceiving of that thing, he then defines God as whatever he can greatest imagine. Therefore, God does exist as he has imagined that thing which must be greater in reality than in his imagination.
"God" is to us what we are to Ants; whether or not our interpretation is correct is moot, we'll never know within our lifetimes. In the meantime, let's do our best to look out, enjoy the wonders that are out there, and figure out as much of the mystery as we can. Because no matter how much we learn, we'll never learn everything and we might as well enjoy the ride.
I'm agnostic, I'm open to something greater than us.
I know I'll get laughed at, but I saw a floating, wet black ball once at Hycroft manor. I'm not fucking kidding! It was weird! Never seen anything like it since.
To the un-initiated, it's worth noting that these measurements have been taken from information that has travelled an incredible amount of years to reach the point as to where we could actually take notes.
So when they take notes on this kind of structure, they have to account for the fact that the light information took so long to get here, meaning that they have to add it (years of age) to the findings that they reviewed regarding it's age according to the light information alone.
So however far away it is in light years, is how much age you have to add to it, on top of the age you estimate it to be in the initial review of the information.
We have the wonderful ability to see the past, fuck I love space.
I can't even wrap my head around a scale that big.
would that kind of be the equivalent of how a small microbe on your balls or on a piece of furniture is compared to the milky way?
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The only ocean creature you can call yourself is the giant squid. He's the destroyer of ships, and the eater of seamen. At least you share one of those traits. -Hypa
mixed girls that look predominatly asian with subtle caucasian features=what i'd give my left nut for -6chr0nic4
__________________ Do Not Put Aftershave on Your Balls. -604CEFIRO Looks like I'm gonna have some hot sex again tonight...OOPS i got the 6 pack. that wont last me the night, I better go back and get the 24 pack! -Turbo E kinda off topic but obama is a dilf - miss_crayon Honest to fucking Christ the easiest way to get a married woman in the mood is clean the house and do the laundry.....I've been with the same girl almost 17 years, ask me how I know. - quasi
I just get so dumbfounded when it comes to the Universe, how complex and vast it is and how puny we are. Yet we (or rather I) always think that the universe revolves around us.. a wake up call every now and then is much appreciated.
On another note, what are your opinions on this video?
lol i doubt that's the biggest thing in our universe.
when it comes to "existence" in the cosmos, the scale of something is irrelevant.
depending on your perspective, 4 billion light years across could be microscopic compared to some of the larger things that exist.
like a fractal, you can zoom in forever, and zoom out forever. there's always something smaller and always something bigger. at ANY level. it's infinite both ways.
just like time. infinite, forward, and backwards. there is no beginning, and no end.
this applies to god. everything above your level is a god. and everything above their level is a god to them. and so on and so forth, infinitely. you can never reach the top tier, because it does not exist. and you can never reach the bottom, because that, does not exist either.
lol i doubt that's the biggest thing in our universe.
when it comes to "existence" in the cosmos, the scale of something is irrelevant.
depending on your perspective, 4 billion light years across could be microscopic compared to some of the larger things that exist.
like a fractal, you can zoom in forever, and zoom out forever. there's always something smaller and always something bigger. at ANY level. it's infinite both ways.
just like time. infinite, forward, and backwards. there is no beginning, and no end.
this applies to god. everything above your level is a god. and everything above their level is a god to them. and so on and so forth, infinitely. you can never reach the top tier, because it does not exist. and you can never reach the bottom, because that, does not exist either.
don't confuse the universe with the observable universe.
don't confuse the universe with the observable universe.
and you have no idea what you are talking about.
i said cosmos.
all of existence.
not just our universe. all universes, and existence in the physical, spiritual, metaphysical realms, and beyond that. ALL of existence, of anything, in ANY realm, in ANY dimension.
you may have a hard time grasping what ALL of existence means. If you don't get it, there is no explanation that can satisfy you.
you have no idea what you are talking about.
Quote:
The newly discovered LQC is so enormous, in fact, that theory predicts it shouldn't exist, researchers said. The quasar group appears to violate a widely accepted assumption known as the cosmological principle, which holds that the universe is essentially homogeneous when viewed at a sufficiently large scale.
Calculations suggest that structures larger than about 1.2 billion light-years should not exist, researchers said.
something exists, that shouldnt exist. yet it exists. so who's wrong? obviously they are. there is some flaw in their calculation or their fundamental logic as a whole.
so there's the observable universe, which lies within our universe, correct?
and our universe is expanding right?
and what medium is it expanding in? I don't care what you say, but it exists. the universe is living proof of something larger than it is.
and beyond that medium? and beyond that medium? and beyond that medium?
and we're only talking about the physical world. don't limit yourself to what you can see and measure.
to the frog in the well, the well, is the universe. you are that frog.
Last edited by Ulic Qel-Droma; 01-14-2013 at 04:41 PM.
I get failed by Alatar and Hondaracer, yet they are too simple minded to post up their own thoughts on the subject?
I've been used to being judged for my beliefs all my life and a few "FAILS" on a car forum aren't going to bother me. Just FYI .
I didn't fail you for your beliefs. I failed you for bringing them into this Scientific discussion/topic.
I'll fail you again if there's the assumption that someone choosing to not to post, or to post later when they have more time means they're "simple minded".
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I don't have an anger problem. I have an idiot problem.
not just our universe. all universes, and existence in the physical, spiritual, metaphysical realms, and beyond that. ALL of existence, of anything, in ANY realm, in ANY dimension.
you may have a hard time grasping what ALL of existence means. If you don't get it, there is no explanation that can satisfy you.
you have no idea what you are talking about.
something exists, that shouldnt exist. yet it exists. so who's wrong? obviously they are. there is some flaw in their calculation or their fundamental logic as a whole.
so there's the observable universe, which lies within our universe, correct?
and our universe is expanding right?
and what medium is it expanding in? I don't care what you say, but it exists. the universe is living proof of something larger than it is.
and beyond that medium? and beyond that medium? and beyond that medium?
and we're only talking about the physical world. don't limit yourself to what you can see and measure.
to the frog in the well, the well, is the universe. you are that frog.
Getting a bit too speculative and fantastical when thinking about multiverses. There are more than enough amazing things within the observable universe that we can examine that are worth our while, than spend too much of our time pontificating about things that can never be proven to exist (alternate universes, hypothetical realities which we can never interact with, God(s), etc.
Which sort of brings me back to my point of "In our lifetimes we'll never explore even the tiniest corner of our huge universe".
I really don't understand the point of bickering about how big it is or isn't; it comes back to how big we can think. Our brains are molecularly tiny compared to the cosmos, so what's out there is quite probably larger than we can comprehend.
The immense stupidity in some of the comments I see is astonishing. I don't know why this moronic OP is laughing at people who believe in God either. Two categories of people that annoy me. Overzealous religious people and dumbfuck Atheists who talk about science when they know nothing. What was supposed to be an amazing discovery for all of us to marvel at regardless of whether you believe in God or not, was steered into some pointless religious discussion by the retard. Posted via RS Mobile
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