Friday, December 19, 2008

Earth not center of the universe - NOT a surprise

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uobc-enc121808.php

Even if our solar system turned out to be in a region of space that was not representative of the universe as a whole, it would not indicate that we are "special". If there were millions of large voids, and our galaxy was the only galaxy in any of them, then we would have reason to wonder if we are "special". If millions of people buy tickets in a lottery, someone will win. That doesn't indicate that person is "special". Humans try to hard to "prove" that we are "special"; it's just more of our silliness.

Public release date: 19-Dec-2008
Contact: Jim Zibin
zibin@phas.ubc.ca
604-263-8246
University of British Columbia

Earth not center of the universe, surrounded by 'dark energy': UBC cosmologists

Earth's location in the Universe is utterly unremarkable, despite recent theories that propose toppling a foundation of modern cosmology, according to a team of University of British Columbia researchers.

Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus's 1543 book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, moved Earth from being the centre of the Universe to just another planet orbiting the Sun. Since then, astronomers have extended the idea and formed the Copernican Principle, which says that our place in the Universe as a whole is completely ordinary. Although the Copernican Principle has become a pillar of modern cosmology, finding conclusive evidence that our neighbourhood of the Universe really isn't special has proven difficult.

In 1998, studies of distant explosions called "type Ia supernovae" indicated that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, an observation attributed to the repulsive force of a mysterious "dark energy." However, some scientists put forward an alternate theory: They proposed that the Earth was near the centre of a giant "bubble," or "void," mostly empty of matter, and strongly violating the Copernican Principle. If this were the case, gravity would create the illusion of acceleration, mimicking the effect of dark energy on the supernova observations.

Now some advanced analysis and modeling performed by UBC post-doctoral fellows Jim Zibin and Adam Moss and Astronomy Prof. Douglas Scott is showing that this alternate "void theory" just doesn't add up. Their findings are published today in the journal Physical Review Letters.

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