DOCSLIB.ORG

A Massive Galaxy Cluster at the Core of the Great Attractor

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Massive Galaxy Cluster at the Core of the Great Attractor A Massive Galaxy Cluster at the Core of the Great Attractor HG. KRAAN-KORTEWEG 1, PA. WOUDT2, V. GAYATTE 1, A.P FAIRALL2, G. BALKOWSKI1, and PA. HENNING 3 10bservatoire de Paris, OAEC, Unite associee au CNRS, 00173, et a l'Universite Paris 7, Meudon, France 20epartment ofAstronomy, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa 30epartment of Physics andAstronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA A deep survey for partially-obscured galaxies - leaving, however, the inner­ served properties of the galaxies for the galaxies behind the southern Milky Way most strip of the Milky Way completely foreground extinction would make this using the IIlaJ film copies of the ESO/ opaque. cluster the most prominent overdensity SERC sky survey reveals the cluster The cluster of galaxies Abell 3627 is in the southern skies. A3627 at Galactic co-ordinates 1 ::: c10se to that innermost strip. It had been To arrive at the distribution of the un­ 325°, b ::: -JO to be the most prominent catalogued in 1989 in the extended cat­ covered galaxies in redshift space, ob­ cluster in the southern hemisphere, alogue of rich clusters, because of the servations have been made at the 3.6-m were its galaxies not overlaid by the dust foreground obscuration only about 50 of telescope of ESO using the multifiber and stars of the Milky Way. Subsequent the larger galaxies were noted. The true system MEFOS built at the Paris-Meu­ follow-up observations find this strongly significance of the cluster became un­ don Observatory (cf. Felenbok et al., obscured galaxy cluster to be the near­ veiled with the identification of over 600 1996), individual spectroscopy at the est, rich, massive cluster in the Uni­ additional cluster members, many of 1.9-m telescope of the SAAO (South Af­ verse, comparable to the well-known which are just below the Lauberts diam­ rican Astronomical Observatory), and HI Coma cluster identified al ready by Wolf eter limit of 1 arcmin. Correcting the ob- observations of low surface brightness in 1906. Moreover, this massive cluster lies - within its errors - at the centre of the Great Attractor and most likely con­ stitutes the previously unidentified bot­ tom of this potential weil (cf. Kraan-Kor­ teweg et al., 1996 for further details). Systematic deviations of galaxies from the uniform expansion field indicate the existence of a "Great Attractor" (GA) - a large mass concentration of - 5 x 1016 Mev, at a redshift v - 4500 km/s, close to or behind the southern Milky Way (Lynden-Bell et al., 1988). The na­ ture and extent of the GA has been the quest of many optical and IRAS galaxy surveys, as weil as X-ray searches. While there is a considerable excess of optical-IRAS galaxies in this region, the absence of a dominant rich cluster at its centre remained peculiar. However, our Milky Way cuts across the central part of the large-scale over­ density of the GA (cf. Fig. 3b and 6b in Kolatt et al., 1995). Even if the core of the GA were in the form of luminous matter, it would be overlaid by the dust and the numerous foreground stars of Our Milky Way - our Galaxy blocks the view of about 25% of the extragalactic sky. For some years, two of us (RCKK and PAW) have led a dedicated effort to un­ veil the distribution of galaxies behind the southern Milky Way making use of the lIIaJ ESO/SERC survey. The films are inspected by eye with a 50 times magnification. All galaxies larger than 0 ::: 0.2 arcmin are recorded, Le. a factor A photograph of the innermost part ofthe clusterAGO 3627(25 x 25 arcmin), i.e. approximately the region within the core radius Re 5 10.4 arcmin, as seen on the ESO/SERG lIIaJ fjeld 137. five smaller compared to the ESO/Upp­ The central bright elliptical galaxy (a cD galaxy with blue magnitude BJ = 14.4) is the well-known sala Catalogue of Galaxies of the south­ radio source PKS 1610-60, one of the strongest radio sources in the southern hemisphere. ern hemisphere. Although heavily Another cD galaxy is located to the left of the radio source (BJ = 14.0). Gareful inspection will crowded with the images of the stars of reveal 59 cluster members present in this photograph, a large fraction of those are early-type our Galaxy, careful scrutiny has re­ galaxies. Note furthermore the huge number ofgalactic foreground stars, which will give some vealed over 10,000 previously unknown inkling about the inherent difficulties in mapping the galaxy distribution across the Milky Way. 17 spiral galaxies with the 64-m Parkes Ra­ at the approximate centre of the GA Wall - including the nearby Pavo, Indus dio Telescope. overdensity. Although very massive as a clusters below the Galactic plane and Within the Abell radius of the cluster cluster, its mass contributes only about the shallow overdensity in Vela above A3627, 109 velocities have so far been 10% of the total mass predicted for the the Galactic plane at 6000 km/so This reduced leading to a mean velocity of < Great Attractor. Hence, it is not "the" whole large-scale structure embodies what has been dubbed in 1987 the then vobs > =4882 km/s and a dispersion of 0' Great Attractor as such, but it is the = 903 km/so This puts the cluster weil prime candidate for being the hitherto unseen Great Attractor. within the predicted velocity range of the unidentified centre of this large-scale GA. The large dispersion of A3627 sug­ overdensity. This is supported by the re­ References gests it to be quite massive. Applying the cent analysis of the ROSAT PSPG data vi rial theorem yields a mass of - 5 x 1015 of A3627 by Böhringer et al. (1996) Böhringer, H., Neumann, D.M., Schindler, S., Mev, Le. a cluster on par with the rich, which finds this cluster to be the 6th & Kraan-Korteweg, R.C., 1996, ApJ, in press. well-known Goma cluster - yet consider­ brightest X-ray cluster in the sky for the Felenbok, P, Guerin, J., Fernandez, A., Cay­ ably c1oser. In fact, simulations show, ROSAT spectral band and confirms its atte, V., Balkowski, C., & Kraan-Korteweg, that if Goma were at the position of vi rial mass. R.C., 1996, A&A, submitted. A3627 in velocity space and subjected The results from our programme with­ Kolatt, T., Dekel, A., & Lahav, 0., 1995, to the same foreground obscuration, the in the whole search area in combination MNRAS 275,797. two clusters would be indistinguishable. with the Southern Redshift Gatalogue Kraan-Korteweg, R.C., Woudt, PA, Cayatte, V., Fairall, A.P., Balkowski, C., & Henning, A3627 even has - like Goma - 2 domi­ suggest furthermore that A3627 is the PA, 1996, Nature, 379,519. nant cD galaxies at its core. dominant component of an apparent Lynden-Bell, D., Faber, S.M., Burstein, D., The most intriguing aspect of the rec­ "great wall" structure - similar to the Davies, R.L., Dressler, A., Terlevich, R.J. & ognition of the new cluster is its position Goma cluster in the (northern) Great Wegner, G.,1988, ApJ326,19. 10- and 17-f.lm Test Images of the Galactic Centre: Massive Protostars Near SgrA*? H. ZINNECKER, Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam T. STANKE, Astronomisches Institut, Universität Würzburg; H.U. KÄUFL, ESQ-Garching Abstract microns, to a 3-sigma limiting flux of sources at mid-infrared wavelengths, so about 0.3 and 4 Jy per arcsec-2, respec­ that it is easy to find an empty sky posi­ We have obtained 10 and 17 micron tively. tion. The very Galactic Gentre is the ex­ (N and Q band) images of the central ception in this respect; there is no other square-parsec of the Galaxy. The imag­ Technical Details c1ustering of strong mid-infrared sources es were taken with ESO's mid-infrared in the Galaxy that rivals the innermost 64 x 64 pixel array camera TIMMI (Käufl The N band images (A =10.1 micron, parsec. et al., 1992, 1994) at the 3.6-m tele­ 01. =4.0 micron) were taken with a pixel The images shown have not been scope on La Silla. The reduced images scale of 0.66 arcsec/pixel in 1.2 arcsec f1at-fielded, as this appears to be unnec­ are displayed in Figure 1a,b: in total, 4 seeing. Due to the high thermal back­ essary: the overall gradient in sensitivity images are shown, two at each wave­ ground (sky and telescope) the on-chip across the array is less than 10%, and length (i.e. a linear and a logarithmic integration time of the individual frames the pixel-to-pixel variations are even stretch) in order to emphasise the full had to be very short (7 ms). Otherwise smaller (Käufl, 1995). dynamic range. The images represent standard infrared techniques were em­ The star ßGru was used as a point 1.5 and 7 minutes net on chip integration ployed, Le. chopping the secondary mir­ source calibrator (N = -3.55, Q = -3.58) time at each wavelength, respectively. ror (2.5 Hz) and nodding the telescope. and also to measure the seeing at mid­ The images indicate that the morpholog­ Sky frames were taken in a location infrared wavelengths; a Gen (N =-1.52, ical structure of the innermost parsec of clear of 10-micron sources. The Q band Q =-1.55) was used, too. the Galactic Gentre is rather similar at images (A = 17.15 micron, D.A = 1.5 mi­ both wavelengths, but differs significant­ cron) were taken with a smaller pixel Significance of the Images Iy at certain locations, in particular at the scale (0.33 arcsec/pixel), a necessity position of IRS3.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Is the Universe Expanding?: an Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 6-1996 Is the Universe Expanding?: An Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew David A. Vlosak Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Cosmology, Relativity, and Gravity Commons Recommended Citation Vlosak, David A., "Is the Universe Expanding?: An Historical and Philosophical Perspective for Cosmologists Starting Anew" (1996). Master's Theses. 3474. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3474 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IS THEUN IVERSE EXPANDING?: AN HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE FOR COSMOLOGISTS STAR TING ANEW by David A Vlasak A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe Degree of Master of Arts Department of Philosophy Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 1996 IS THE UNIVERSE EXPANDING?: AN HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE FOR COSMOLOGISTS STARTING ANEW David A Vlasak, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1996 This study addresses the problem of how scientists ought to go about resolving the current crisis in big bang cosmology. Although this problem can be addressed by scientists themselves at the level of their own practice, this study addresses it at the meta­ level by using the resources offered by philosophy of science. There are two ways to resolve the current crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy 422
    Astronomy 422 Lecture 15: Expansion and Large Scale Structure of the Universe Key concepts: Hubble Flow Clusters and Large scale structure Gravitational Lensing Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect Expansion and age of the Universe • Slipher (1914) found that most 'spiral nebulae' were redshifted. • Hubble (1929): "Spiral nebulae" are • other galaxies. – Measured distances with Cepheids – Found V=H0d (Hubble's Law) • V is called recessional velocity, but redshift due to stretching of photons as Universe expands. • V=H0D is natural result of uniform expansion of the universe, and also provides a powerful distance determination method. • However, total observed redshift is due to expansion of the universe plus a galaxy's motion through space (peculiar motion). – For example, the Milky Way and M31 approaching each other at 119 km/s. • Hubble Flow : apparent motion of galaxies due to expansion of space. v ~ cz • Cosmological redshift: stretching of photon wavelength due to expansion of space. Recall relativistic Doppler shift: Thus, as long as H0 constant For z<<1 (OK within z ~ 0.1) What is H0? Main uncertainty is distance, though also galaxy peculiar motions play a role. Measurements now indicate H0 = 70.4 ± 1.4 (km/sec)/Mpc. Sometimes you will see For example, v=15,000 km/s => D=210 Mpc = 150 h-1 Mpc. Hubble time The Hubble time, th, is the time since Big Bang assuming a constant H0. How long ago was all of space at a single point? Consider a galaxy now at distance d from us, with recessional velocity v. At time th ago it was at our location For H0 = 71 km/s/Mpc Large scale structure of the universe • Density fluctuations evolve into structures we observe (galaxies, clusters etc.) • On scales > galaxies we talk about Large Scale Structure (LSS): – groups, clusters, filaments, walls, voids, superclusters • To map and quantify the LSS (and to compare with theoretical predictions), we use redshift surveys.
    [Show full text]
  • Dark Matter Particles with Low Mass (And FTL)
    Dark Matter Particles with Low Mass (and FTL) Xiaodong Huang Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095, U.S.A. Wuliang Huang Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences P.O. Box 918(3), Beijing 100049, China Abstract: From the observed results of the space distribution of quasars and the mass scale sequence table, we deduced the existence of superstructures (feeble dark structure) with mass scale of 1019 solar mass, as well as the lightest stable fermion with mass of 10"1 eV, in the universe. From the observed results of ultra-high energy primary cosmic ray spectrum (“knee” and “ankle”), quasar irradiation spectrum (“IR bump” and “blue bump”), and Extragalactic Background Light (“IR peak” and “blue peak”), we deduced that the mass of ! 1 ! the neutrino is about 10" eV and the mass of the fourth stable elementary particle (" ) is about 100eV. While neutrino ! is related to electro-weak field, the fourth stable elementary particle! is related to gravitation-“strong” field, and some new meta-stable baryons may appear near the TeV region. Therefore, a twofold standard model diagram is ! proposed, and! involves some experiment phenomena: The new meta-stable baryons’ ! decays produce! particles, which are helpful in explaining the Dijet asymmetry phenomena at LHC of CERN, the different results for the Fermilab’s data peak, etc; However, according to the (B-L) invariance, the sterile “neutrino” about the event excess in MiniBooNe is not the fourth neutrino but rather the! particle; We think that the! particles are related to the phenomenon about neutrinos FTL, and that anti-neutrinos are faster than neutrinos.
    [Show full text]
  • The “Dipole Repeller” Explained
    The “Dipole Repeller” Explained by Clark M. Thomas © 03/15/2017 Introduction Earlier this year, in 2017, a major article was published in Nature on a vast dipole gravity phenomenon now known as the Shapley Attractor and the Dipole Repeller.1 A helpful short video is included.2 Its thesis was largely based on studies of red-shift spectral data recently published on several thousands of galaxies within several hundred million light years radius.3 The four authors of this article have creatively built their cosmic model around General Relativity (GR), with inspiration from electromagnetism (EM). They hypothesize that the immense Shapley Supercluster (with the mass of about 8,000 average galaxies) is gravitationally attracting us from several hundred million light years away in the direction of the Centaurus constellation. Furthermore, somewhat closer lies what is called the Great Attractor (with mass of about 1,000 average galaxies) from the direction of the Norma and Triangulum Australe constellations. The Shapley galactic net attractive force is significantly greater than that of the Great Attractor, and together they pull our Milky Way toward them – in addition to the “Hubble’s Law” Doppler movement outward as the visible universe expands exponentially and uniformly, apparently from “Dark Energy.”4 1 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-016-0036 2 http://www.nature.com/article-assets/npg/natastron/2017/s41550-016-0036/extref/ s41550-016-0036-s2.mp4 3 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-6256/146/3/69/ meta;jsessionid=C2E343C6040E9038FA229EEA517C9893.c1.iopscience.cld.iop.org
    [Show full text]
  • The Distance to Ngc 4993 – the Host Galaxy of the Gravitational Wave Event Gw 170817
    DRAFT VERSION OCTOBER 4, 2017 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX61 THE DISTANCE TO NGC 4993 – THE HOST GALAXY OF THE GRAVITATIONAL WAVE EVENT GW 170817 JENS HJORTH,1 ANDREW J. LEVAN,2 NIAL R. TANVIR,3 JOE D. LYMAN,2 RADOSŁAW WOJTAK,1 SOPHIE L. SCHRØDER,1 ILYA MANDEL,4 CHRISTA GALL,1 AND SOFIE H. BRUUN1 1Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark 2Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK 4Birmingham Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK ABSTRACT The historic detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger (GW 170817) and its electromagnetic coun- terpart led to the first accurate (sub-arcsecond) localization of a gravitational wave event. The transient was found to be ∼1000 from the nucleus of the S0 galaxy NGC 4993. We here report the luminosity distance to this galaxy using two independent meth- ods: (1) Based on our MUSE/VLT measurement of the heliocentric redshift (z = 0:009783 ± 0:000023) we infer the systemic -1 recession velocity of the NGC 4993 group of galaxies in the CMB frame to be vCMB = 3231 ± 53 km s . Using constrained cos- -1 mological simulations we estimate the line-of-sight peculiar velocity to be vpec = 307±230 km s , resulting in a cosmic velocity -1 of vcosmic = 2924 ± 236 km s (zcosmic = 0:00980 ± 0:00079) and a distance of Dz = 40:4 ± 3:4 Mpc assuming a local Hubble -1 -1 00 00 constant of H0 = 73:24 ± 1:74 km s Mpc .
    [Show full text]
  • The Dipole Repeller
    The Dipole Repeller Yehuda Hoffman1, Daniel Pomarede` 2, R. Brent Tully3 and Hel´ ene` Courtois4 In accordance with Nature publication policy, this version is the original one submitted to Nature Astronomy. The accepted version is accessible online at Nature Astronomy and differs from this one. Nature Astronomy 2017, Volume 1 , article 36. We will be allowed to post in 6 months the accepted version on arxiv. 1Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel 2Institut de Recherche sur les Lois Fondamentales de l’Univers, CEA, Universite´ Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France 3Institute for Astronomy (IFA), University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, HI 96822, USA 4University of Lyon; UCB Lyon 1/CNRS/IN2P3; IPN Lyon, France In the standard (ΛCDM) model of cosmology the universe has emerged out of an early ho- mogeneous and isotropic phase. Structure formation is associated with the growth of density irregularities and peculiar velocities. Our Local Group is moving with respect to the cosmic −1 1 arXiv:1702.02483v1 [astro-ph.CO] 8 Feb 2017 microwave background (CMB) with a velocity of VCMB = 631 ± 20 km s and participates in a bulk flow that extends out to distances of at least ≈ 20; 000 km s−1 2–4. The quest for the sources of that motion has dominated cosmography since the discovery of the CMB dipole. The implicit assumption was that excesses in the abundance of galaxies induce the Local 1 Group motion5–7. Yet, underdense regions push as much as overdensities attract8 but they are deficient of light and consequently difficult to chart.
    [Show full text]
  • How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still? by Andrew Fraknoi Foothill College & the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
    © 2007, Astronomical Society of the Pacific No. 71 • Spring 2007 www.astrosociety.org/uitc 390 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112 How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still? by Andrew Fraknoi Foothill College & the Astronomical Society of the Pacific hen, after a long day of running around, you Stream is part of contains more water than all the rivers of finally find the time to relax in your favorite the world put together. It is circulated by the energy of our Warmchair, nothing seems easier than just sitting turning planet. still. But have you ever considered how fast you are really moving when it seems you are not moving at all? Daily Motion When we are on a smoothly riding train, we sometimes get the illusion that the train is standing still and the trees or buildings are moving backwards. In the same way, because we “ride” with the spinning Earth, it appears to us that the Sun and the stars are the ones doing the moving as day and night alternate. But actually, it is our planet that turns on its axis once a day—and all of us who live on the Earth’s surface are moving with it. How fast do we turn? To make one complete rotation in 24 hours, a point near the equator of the Earth must move at close to 1000 miles per hour (1600 km/hr). The speed gets less as you move north, but it’s still a good clip throughout the United States. Because gravity holds us tight to the surface of our planet, we move with the Earth and don’t notice its rotation1 in everyday life.
    [Show full text]
  • A Plausible Resolution to Hilbert's Failed Attempt to Unify Gravitation & Electromagnetism
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications Academic Department Resources 12-2018 A Plausible Resolution to Hilbert’s Failed Attempt to Unify Gravitation & Electromagnetism Florentin Smarandache Victor Christianto Robert Neil Boyd Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/math_fsp Part of the Cosmology, Relativity, and Gravity Commons, External Galaxies Commons, Mathematics Commons, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons, and the Physical Processes Commons Prespacetime Journal| December 2018 | Volume 9 | Issue 10 | pp. xxx-xxx 1000 Christianto, V., Smarandache, F., & Boyd, R. N., A Plausible Resolution to Hilbert’s Failed Attempt to Unify Gravitation & Electromagnetism Exploration A Plausible Resolution to Hilbert’s Failed Attempt to Unify Gravitation & Electromagnetism Victor Christianto1*, Florentin Smarandache2 & Robert N. Boyd3 1Malang Institute of Agriculture (IPM), Malang, Indonesia 2Dept. of Math. Sci., Univ. of New Mexico, Gallup, USA 3Independent Researcher, USA Abstract In this paper, we explore the reasons why Hilbert’s axiomatic program to unify gravitation theory and electromagnetism failed and outline a plausible resolution of this problem. The latter is based on Gödel’s incompleteness theorem and Newton’s aether stream model. Keywords: Unification, gravitation, electromagnetism, Hilbert, resolution. Introduction Hilbert and Einstein were in race at 1915 to develop a new gravitation theory based on covariance principle [1]. While Einstein seemed to win the race at the time, Hilbert produced two communications which show that he was ahead of Einstein in term of unification of gravitation theory and electromagnetic theory. Hilbert started with Mie’s electromagnetic theory. However, as Mie theory became completely failed, so was the Hilbert’s axiomatic program to unify those two theories [1].
    [Show full text]
  • OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Realms of Fire and Ice We Start Your Tour of the Cosmos with Gas and Ice Giants, a Lot of Rocks, and the Only Known Abode for Life
    © 2016 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Realms of fire and ice We start your tour of the cosmos with gas and ice giants, a lot of rocks, and the only known abode for life. by Francis Reddy cosmic perspective is always a correctly describe our planetary system The cosmic distance scale little unnerving. For example, we as consisting of Jupiter plus debris. It’s hard to imagine just how big occupy the third large rock from The star that brightens our days, the our universe is. To give a sense of its a middle-aged dwarf star we Sun, is the solar system’s source of heat vast scale, we’ve devoted the bot- call the Sun, which resides in a and light as well as its central mass, a tom of this and the next four stories Aquiet backwater of a barred spiral galaxy gravitational anchor holding everything to a linear scale of the cosmos. The known as the Milky Way, itself one of bil- together as we travel around the galaxy. distance to each object represents the amount of space its light has lions of galaxies. Yet at the same time, we Its warmth naturally divides the planetary traversed to reach Earth. Because can take heart in knowing that our little system into two zones of disparate size: the universe is expanding, a distant tract of the universe remains exceptional one hot, bright, and compact, and the body will have moved farther away as the only place where we know life other cold, dark, and sprawling.
    [Show full text]
  • A Christian Physicist Examines the Big Bang Theory
    A Christian Physicist Examines the Big Bang Theory by Steven Ball, Ph.D. September 2003 Dedication I dedicate this work to my physics professor, William Graziano, who first showed me that the universe is orderly and comprehensible, and stirred a passion in me to pursue the very limits of it. Cover picture of the Egg Nebula, taken by Hubble Space Telescope, courtesy NASA, copyright free 1 Introduction This booklet is a follow-up to the similar previous booklet, A Christian Physicist Examines the Age of the Earth. In that booklet I discussed reasons for the controversy over this issue and how these can be resolved. I also drew from a number of fields of science, ranging from the earth’s geology to cosmology, to show that the scientific evidence clearly favors an age of 4.6 billion years for the Earth and about 14 billion years for the universe. I know that the Big Bang Theory of cosmology is not so readily accepted in some Christian groups, precisely because it points to an older universe. But I appealed to reason and the apparent agreement with the scriptures [1] when considering the evidence. However, in an attempt to preserve a continuity of discussion, that booklet only briefly covers some of the scientific evidence supporting the Big Bang theory, and the following discussion of scriptural references did not emphasize any relevance to the Big Bang. There was much more to write on these, but it did not seem to fit well with the discussion on the age of the Earth. However, since I asked the reader to reason with me, it didn’t seem quite fair on my part to cut short the explanations.
    [Show full text]
  • Discovery of Two Galaxies Deeply Embedded in the Great Attractor Wall T
    The Astronomical Journal, 133:979Y986, 2007 March # 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. DISCOVERY OF TWO GALAXIES DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN THE GREAT ATTRACTOR WALL T. H. Jarrett Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; [email protected] B. S. Koribalski Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Epping, NSW, Australia R. C. Kraan-Korteweg and P. A. Woudt Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Republic of South Africa B. A. Whitney Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA M. R. Meade, B. Babler, and E. Churchwell Astronomy Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA R. A. Benjamin Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, USA and R. Indebetouw Astronomy Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA Received 2006 September 18; accepted 2006 November 3 ABSTRACT We report on the discovery of two spiral galaxies located behind the southern Milky Way, within the least- explored region of the Great Attractor. They lie at ðÞl; b ðÞ317; À0:5 , where obscuration from Milky Way stars and dust exceeds 13Y15 mag of visual extinction. The galaxies were the most prominent of a set identified using mid-infrared images of the low-latitude (jbj < 1) Spitzer Legacy program Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire. Follow-up H i radio observations reveal that both galaxies have redshifts that place them squarely in the Norma Wall of galaxies, which appears to extend diagonally across the Galactic plane from Norma in the south to Centaurus/Vela in the north. We report on the near-infrared, mid-infrared, and radio properties of these newly discovered galaxies and discuss their context in the larger view of the Great Attractor.
    [Show full text]
  • 71. How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still?
    © 2007, Astronomical Society of the Pacific No. 71 • Spring 2007 www.astrosociety.org/uitc 390 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112 How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still? by Andrew Fraknoi Foothill College & the Astronomical Society of the Pacific hen, after a long day of running around, you Stream is part of contains more water than all the rivers of finally find the time to relax in your favorite the world put together. It is circulated by the energy of our Warmchair, nothing seems easier than just sitting turning planet. still. But have you ever considered how fast you are really moving when it seems you are not moving at all? Daily Motion When we are on a smoothly riding train, we sometimes get the illusion that the train is standing still and the trees or buildings are moving backwards. In the same way, because we “ride” with the spinning Earth, it appears to us that the Sun and the stars are the ones doing the moving as day and night alternate. But actually, it is our planet that turns on its axis once a day—and all of us who live on the Earth’s surface are moving with it. How fast do we turn? To make one complete rotation in 24 hours, a point near the equator of the Earth must move at close to 1000 miles per hour (1600 km/hr). The speed gets less as you move north, but it’s still a good clip throughout the United States. Because gravity holds us tight to the surface of our planet, we move with the Earth and don’t notice its rotation1 in everyday life.
    [Show full text]