More stars in Universe than thought

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30-03-2010, 12:22 PM
barbaro

More stars in Universe than thought

Underestimaed by 90%.....

Quote:

Discovery News
Wed Mar 24, 2010

Counting all of those twinkling lights in the night sky just got a lot harder.

Astronomers may have underestimated the tally of galaxies in some parts of the universe by as much as 90 percent, according to a study reported on Wednesday in Nature, the weekly British science journal.

Surveys of the cosmos are based on a signature of ultraviolet light that turns out to be a poor indicator of what's out there, its authors say.

In the case of very distant, old galaxies, the telltale light may not reach Earth as it is blocked by interstellar clouds of dust and gas -- and, as a result, these galaxies are missed by the map-makers.

"Astronomers always knew they were missing some fraction of the galaxies... but for the first time we now have a measurement. The number of missed galaxies is substantial," said Matthew Hayes of the University of Geneva's observatory, who led the investigation.

Article
30-03-2010, 07:32 PM
StrontiumDog

It sure is a big place....and none of us will ever live to see any of it. Very sad about that..
30-03-2010, 08:27 PM
FailSafe

And a fair percentage of those stars will be orbited by planets- there's no way we're alone in the universe- even if the development of life is a billion-to-one shot, there would still be a huge probability of it existing somewhere besides Earth.
30-03-2010, 08:32 PM
Bangyai

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

It sure is a big place....and none of us will ever live to see any of it. Very sad about that..

Gotta count ourselves lucky for just standing on this little insignificant dot floating in the vastness of it all. Seeing Chelsea beat Aston Villa 7 - 1 is just a pleasant bonus.
30-03-2010, 09:11 PM
Gerbil

YouTube - Galaxy Song
30-03-2010, 09:14 PM
crippen

Quote:

Originally Posted by FailSafe

And a fair percentage of those stars will be orbited by planets- there's no way we're alone in the universe- even if the development of life is a billion-to-one shot, there would still be a huge probability of it existing somewhere besides Earth.

Does that mean that somewhere out there another TD exists,with another Smeg??:chitown:
30-03-2010, 09:19 PM
Gerbil

^ highly unlikely (I hope!)

The anti-smeg probably loves their Thailand and if ever the two met, the universe could be destroyed by the explosion.
31-03-2010, 07:27 AM
robuzo

"Counting all of those twinkling lights in the night sky just got a lot harder" No, it didn't. Interesting article, but the existence of previously unknown galaxies doesn't have any effect on how many stars are visible in the night sky, which is a surprisingly small number, only 1500-2000, and that many only if you are far away from terrestrial light sources.
31-03-2010, 01:29 PM
Mid

give the universe is infinite , counting the total number of stars is BS .
31-03-2010, 07:43 PM
StrontiumDog

Since when was it infinite?
31-03-2010, 08:44 PM
Larn

There are some interesting theories about the size of the universe.

I was watching a documentary a few weeks ago that said what we can see in our known universe is limited to the age of the universe x the distance in light years.

One theory is a person at the edge of what we can see can also see the same distance past that and so forth. The possibilities were limitless.
31-03-2010, 09:13 PM
kingwilly

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

It sure is a big place....and none of us will ever live to see any of it. Very sad about that..

On the contary we can see a large amount of it (albeit a very small fraction) every time we look into the night sky!
31-03-2010, 09:21 PM
crippen

thought it was shaped like a Pringle?

By Chantal Martineau, Monday, Aug. 3 2009 [at] 1:48PM
Categories: Featured, Food for Thought

NASA/JPL-Caltech/vages/flickr

New Scientist appears to have snacks on the brain as it ponders the shape of the universe. While scientists have long assumed the cosmos in shaped like a sphere (a bacon gumball, perhaps?), alternative theories suggest the universe may be shaped like a doughnut, a Pringle, or even a Bugle. Mmm... science.
http://https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/a...01/pringle.jpg

:mid:
31-03-2010, 09:48 PM
sunsetter

x files excrement = weird shit man
31-03-2010, 09:53 PM
barbaro

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunsetter

x files excrement = weird shit man

My ex-girlfriend dated David Duchovny.

And Scrotinium dog, I agree with you.

Lots of planets in the massively huge universe. We are not alone, IMO.
31-03-2010, 09:54 PM
Smug Farang Bore

^^It all a big painting man:chitown:
31-03-2010, 10:17 PM
The Ghost Of The Moog

I have just acquired quite a nice refractor. A gift from an appreciative British finanical institution. Hope now for some clear nights, and not too much ambient light pollution.
31-03-2010, 11:30 PM
Takeovers

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Ghost_Of_The_Moog

and not too much ambient light pollution.

I wish. Even when I was a young child, the ambient light at the outskirts of Berlin was already so much that I could not see the Milky Way.:spin:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mid

give the universe is infinite , counting the total number of stars is BS .

To my knowledge the state of the affair is the Universe is endless but finite.

At least our Universe. According to some theories there are many to infinite many Universes. Where else would our socks go when they disappear in the washing machine?

I do wonder however if this would have any effect on the balance of normal matter and the elusive dark matter in the Universe. Also on the observed accelerating expansion and that even more elusive dark energy.