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rev · 09-26-2008, 12:48 PM

Hot gas in moving galaxy clusters (white spots) shifts the temperature of cosmic microwaves. Hundreds of distant clusters seem to be moving toward one patch of sky (purple ellipse).

WASHINGTON -- Using data from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), scientists have identified an unexpected motion in distant galaxy clusters. The cause, they suggest, is the gravitational attraction of matter that lies beyond the observable universe.

"The clusters show a small but measurable velocity that is independent of the universe's expansion and does not change as distances increase," says lead researcher Alexander Kashlinsky at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We never expected to find anything like this."

Kashlinsky calls this collective motion a "dark flow" in the vein of more familiar cosmological mysteries: dark energy and dark matter. "The distribution of matter in the observed universe cannot account for this motion," he says.
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Rob · 09-26-2008, 10:07 PM

Really intriguing.

The Diva · 09-27-2008, 08:03 AM

Theorist have been predicting its existence for years now

it was just a matter of time till it was actually detected!

09-26-2008, 12:48 PM	#1
rev Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Greece Posts: 324 Thanks: 22 Thanked 30 Times in 21 Posts	Scientists Detect Cosmic 'Dark Flow' Across Billions of Light Years. Hot gas in moving galaxy clusters (white spots) shifts the temperature of cosmic microwaves. Hundreds of distant clusters seem to be moving toward one patch of sky (purple ellipse). WASHINGTON -- Using data from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), scientists have identified an unexpected motion in distant galaxy clusters. The cause, they suggest, is the gravitational attraction of matter that lies beyond the observable universe. "The clusters show a small but measurable velocity that is independent of the universe's expansion and does not change as distances increase," says lead researcher Alexander Kashlinsky at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We never expected to find anything like this." Kashlinsky calls this collective motion a "dark flow" in the vein of more familiar cosmological mysteries: dark energy and dark matter. "The distribution of matter in the observed universe cannot account for this motion," he says. more...

09-26-2008, 10:07 PM	#2
Rob Aficionado Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 4,618 Thanks: 892 Thanked 719 Times in 401 Posts	Re: Scientists Detect Cosmic 'Dark Flow' Across Billions of Light Years. Really intriguing.

09-27-2008, 08:03 AM	#3
The Diva Master Shopper Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 926 Thanks: 974 Thanked 860 Times in 424 Posts	Re: Scientists Detect Cosmic 'Dark Flow' Across Billions of Light Years. Theorist have been predicting its existence for years now it was just a matter of time till it was actually detected!

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Scientists Detect Cosmic 'Dark Flow' Across Billions of Light Years.