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Astronomers
have used deep-sky searches to examine the farthest galaxies, and found many
examples near redshift 6. However, very few were found between redshifts 7-8,
even allowing for added faintness. The conclusion drawn was that galaxy
formation in the early Big Bang universe set in quite suddenly about 13 billion
years ago.
But as is well known, galaxies
tend to occur in great walls separated by vast voids. Moreover, certain
redshift values are consistently seen more frequently than others in
high-redshift surveys. One of those peaks falls somewhat above redshift 6, and
one of the voids falls between redshifts 7-8. So this interpretation is
specious unless it can be shown that there is no prevalence of galaxies at the
next redshift peak outward. Perhaps the next generation Space Telescope will
have the capability to see these or to establish their absence.
Samples from
comet Wild 2 have surprised scientists, who have found minerals formed near the
sun or other stars in the samples returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust
spacecraft in January. The findings suggest materials from the center of the
solar system could have traveled to the outer reaches where comets formed. This
may alter the way scientists view the formation and composition of comets.
High-temperature minerals are found in materials from the coldest place in the
solar system. This supports a particular model where strong bipolar jets coming
out of the early sun propelled material formed near to the sun outward to the
outer reaches of the solar system. One mineral found in the material brought
back by Stardust is olivine, a primary component of the green sand found on
some Hawaiian beaches (because it is ejected by volcanoes from deep in Earth’s
interior). Olivine is a compound of iron, magnesium and other elements. The
Stardust sample is primarily magnesium. Along with olivine, the dust from Wild
2 contains high-temperature minerals rich in calcium, aluminum and titanium.
Naturally, like all new
findings, this one comes as no surprise to the exploded planet hypothesis. The
EPH maintains comets and asteroids started out physically and chemically the
same – fragments of exploded planets or moons. It is therefore to be expected
that they contain elements requiring high formation temperatures such as those
found in Earth’s mantle. The new ad hoc patch to the mainstream model to
accommodate these findings is that the early Sun must have ejected hot material
to great distances that subsequently became incorporated into comets. How that
material managed to form olivine, which requires high pressure as well as high
temperature, is not yet addressed. But we can be sure that inventive
theoreticians will not be stumped for long.
We have long
maintained that the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) were the remnants of two
exploded planets, not just one; and that an outer belt of these objects would
eventually be discovered to show that the two or three objects presently known
are not just strays or flukes. Now comes new evidence to that effect in AJ
132:819-822 (2006). The first detection of 100-meter-size objects by the method
of serendipitous stellar occultation produced three findings. This method
consists of recording the diffraction shadow created when an object crosses the
observer’s line of sight and occults the disk of a background star. One of these
three detections is most consistent with an object between Saturn and Uranus.
The two other diffractions patterns detected are caused by TNOs beyond
100 AU from the Sun and hence are the farthest objects heretofore detected
in the solar system. These detections show that the TNO asteroid belt is much
more extended than previously known, and that relatively small objects are
present there as well. This finding gives critical clues to understanding solar
system structure and formation.
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“Response to ‘BELIEVING IS SEEING’: I prefer, ‘Do not look
into laser with remaining eye.’” – Gordon D. Pusch |
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