The Universe is Dying

Well, Thanks to Joe, I once again revisit a subject that was, to me, at least, dead (sorry about the choice of words) and buried.

It seems that, yes indeed according to  Professor Simon Driver, from the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western Australia.  Studying 200,000 galaxies, astronomers confirmed that the Universe is slowly dying.

Not just energy generated in the visual band but near,mid, far infrared plus ultraviolet, each and every energy band is showing dying. 

But we should be honest here....  astronomers have known for some time now that the Universe's days were numbered.  There really isn't anything new here except maybe a more refined end time and date I suppose. 

An international team of apx. 100 scientists using information garnered from the world's most powerful telescopes - both land and space based - to study the energy emitting from more than 200,000 galaxies,  in a wide slice of the observable universe.

The up to date data has confirmed the cosmos is radiating only half as much energy as it was 2 billion years ago.

It really should be pointed out that the universe is an elder statesman at over 13 billion years old.  Our sun alone is a third generation star.  Vast amounts of energy have to be squeezed into smaller and smaller areas to make star formation possible, hence far fewer stars.

Death is a bit of a misnomer because the universe will  still be there, but its stars and all else that produces light and stellar fire will fizzle out.

It will just grow old forever, slowly converting less and less mass into energy as billions of years pass by until eventually, it will become a cold, dark and desolate place, where all of the lights go out,I paraphrased - astronomer Luke Davies.

Check the CNN online page HERE  
and the NPR HERE 

Chandra Sees Closest Super-Nova in Decades

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory glimpsed one of the closest supernovas witnessed in decades. The telescope was able collect data on a the type 1a explosion that took place January 21 2014.

 This is one of the closest supernovas (located in the nearby Messier 82 galaxy) witnessed in decades.

The data gathered from the explosion allowed scientists to rule out one possible cause.

The type 1a supernovas is thought that the explosion may be triggered when a white dwarf takes on too much mass from its companion star, immersing it in a cloud of gas that produces a significant source of X-rays after the explosion.

Using NASA's Swift and Chandra telescopes, Astronomers searched the location of the explosion, for such an X-ray source. However, no source was found.

It is possible that this supernova, SN 2014J, could have been caused by the merger of two white dwarf stars, which would result in little or no X-rays after the explosion.

Read the rest of the article HERE on the NASA page

NASA Testing Super Black Material

Imagine something so black, so devoid of any reflected light that it is impossible to see when it is folded! This new material absorbs 99.5% of all visible light that hits it and 99.8% of all infrared. This is seriously dark material!

Scientist, astronomers and engineers alike hope that this material, that they hope to coat devices like components going on to space telescopes (or even land based scopes). This would drastically cut down on the light reflected into the optics and optical sensors.

NASA sent a little round of the coating to the International Space Station, aboard a recent resupply flight. This delivery also contained experimental robotic systems for fixing satellites in orbit.  It is NASA's plan that the coating module will stay on an unpressurized platform, on the outside of the ISS, exposing it to the rigors of space, for a year, before being sent back to Earth for analysis.

Read the rest of the Popular Science article HERE