Ultimate fate of the universe The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology. Many possible fates are predicted by rival scientific theories, including futures of both finite and infinite duration. Once the notion that the universe started with a rapid inflation nicknamed the Big Bang became accepted by the majority of scientists,[1] the ultimate fate of the universe became a valid cosmological question, one depending upon the physical properties of the mass/energy in the universe, its average density, and the rate of expansion. There is a growing consensus among cosmologists that the universe is flat and will continue to expand forever.[2][3] The ultimate fate of the universe is dependent on the shape of the universe and what role dark energy will play as the universe ages. Emerging scientific basis[edit] Theory[edit] The theoretical scientific exploration of the ultimate fate of the universe became possible with Albert Einstein's 1916 theory of general relativity. Observation[edit] Big Rip[edit]
extra dimensions, parallel universes Hidden Space Dimensions May Permit Parallel Universes, Explain Cosmic Mysteries By Tom Siegfried / The Dallas Morning News Hidden space dimensions may permit parallel universes, explain cosmic mysteries Imagine a mansion with a secret room - the perfect setting for a mystery. Now imagine that the room is vastly bigger than the mansion itself - and contains more mansions. That would make the mystery pretty bizarre.
Drake equation The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. The equation was written in 1961 by Frank Drake not for purposes of quantifying the number of civilizations,[1] but intended as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at the world's first SETI meeting, in Green Bank, West Virginia. The equation summarizes the main concepts which scientists must contemplate when considering the question of other radio-communicative life.[1] The Drake equation has proved controversial since several of its factors are currently unknown, and estimates of their values span a very wide range. History[edit] In September 1959, physicists Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison published an article in the journal Nature with the provocative title "Searching for Interstellar Communications Soon thereafter, Drake hosted a "search for extraterrestrial intelligence" meeting on detecting their radio signals. where: and
dark flow Something strange appears to be tugging a 'dark flow' of galaxies across the universe. is this evidence that parallel universes really exist? SYDNEY: Astronomers have found the best evidence yet for the weird idea that our universe is one of many in the ‘multiverse’. What’s more, these parallel universes seem to be exerting a strange force on our own, causing galaxy clusters to stream across space towards the edge of the known universe. The new evidence comes from studies of ‘bumps and wiggles’ in the temperature of the cosmic background radiation (CMB), the leftover afterglow of the Big Bang. Dark flow U.S. cosmologist Sasha Kashlinsky of the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-workers measured slight changes in the CMB using NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). Last year, Kashlinsky’s team found an unusual pattern in the movements of galaxy clusters. Best evidence for the multiverse Fits the data
Dark flow The researchers had suggested that the motion may be a remnant of the influence of no-longer-visible regions of the universe prior to inflation. Telescopes cannot see events earlier than about 380,000 years after the Big Bang, when the universe became transparent (the Cosmic Microwave Background); this corresponds to the particle horizon at a distance of about 46 billion (4.6×1010) light years. Since the matter causing the net motion in this proposal is outside this range, it would in a certain sense be outside our visible universe; however, it would still be in our past light cone. The results appeared in the October 20, 2008, issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.[2][3][4][5][non-primary source needed] Since then, the authors have extended their analysis to additional clusters and the recently released WMAP five-year data. Location[edit] The dark flow. Criticisms[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
imprint of another universe IN AUGUST, radio astronomers announced that they had found an enormous hole in the universe. Nearly a billion light years across, the void lies in the constellation Eridanus and has far fewer stars, gas and galaxies than usual. It is bigger than anyone imagined possible and is beyond the present understanding of cosmology. What could cause such a gaping hole? One team of physicists has a breathtaking explanation: "It is the unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own," says Laura Mersini-Houghton of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is a staggering claim. Will the solar system planets align on December 21, 2012? | Human World No, the planets of the solar system are not aligned at the solstice on December 21, 2012. The diagram below shows the positions of all the solar system planets (and the dwarf planet Pluto) at the instant of the December 2012 solstice (2012 December 21 at 11:12 UTC ). Positions of the planets on December 21, 2012 Find out which symbols represent which planets here. Look for yourself. Should you ever want to know the positions of the planets at the drop of the hat, click here or here . By the way, the above diagram shows the planetary positions from the direction north of the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane. Perhaps you’ve seen images such as the one below. This portrayal of the solar system gives the relative sizes of the sun and planets, and the order of the planets (and dwarf planets) going outward from the sun. The so-called planetary alignment associated with December 2012 solstice is only one of numerous fraudulent claims made by pseudoscientific doomsday prognosticators.
Does Our Universe Have an Edge? By Christy SuEpoch Times Staff Created: July 22, 2011 Last Updated: July 22, 2011 YouTube screenshot depicting the universe as a three-dimensional dodecahedron, ie it may have 12 sides, like a cosmic soccer ball. (The Epoch Times) Einstein hypothesized that the universe is like a flat sheet that runs on forever, deformed by matter such as stars and galaxies. However, scientists continue to question whether the universe really is infinite. The further away a galaxy or star is from Earth, the older it is. This space is filled with gas and plasma so hot that light cannot pass through, forming a layer of cosmic microwave background radiation that is separating us from a possible boundary of the universe. But regardless of our limited ability to research the space beyond, cosmologists use logic to reason that our universe is finite. According to the big bang theory, the universe was once a small condensed ball of energy. So if the universe really is finite, what would it be like?
Henry Tye and brane-worlds Provided In a two-dimensional representation of the brane-inflation scenario, two nearby branes, each itself inflating, are drawn together and annihilate, creating a mass of subatomic particles and energy that eventually coalesces into our universe, driven to expand by the tremendous release of energy from the annihilation. Theory predicts that the process created huge cosmic strings that exist in dimensions outside our three that might be observed by new gravity-wave detectors. Imagine little flat people living on the surface of a piece of paper. Now you're ready for brane-world theory, which proposes that our three-dimensional universe lies inside higher spatial dimensions, and we are no more aware of them than those flat people are of our third dimension. Brane-world theory is a subset of string theory, which proposes that quarks, electrons and other elementary particles are not really tiny spheres, but actually tiny strings. And where did those branes come from?