Starship Asterisk*

So, gravitons are carrying away the energy/mass? I'm not sure how to ask this question intelligently, but here is a try: In a nuclear reaction where mass is lost in the form of radiated energy - are particles "turned into" photons as they radiate away, and in this way mass/energy is lost? ...

50bmg wrote:What are the spots on the solar panel? Perhaps micrometeoroid impacts?

Does anyone know anything about the spots on the solar panel? Thanks!

What are the spots on the solar panel? Perhaps micrometeoroid impacts?

That was excellent. Thanks so much for the time you put into that.
I have a much clearer picture now.
Thanks again!

Ben

Maybe I'm starting to understand, but not quite there. Chris Peterson's response about the distrubition being different is what I was originally guessing. But that seems like a different reason than Art Neuendorffer's reason. If I understand correctly - It was stated that "The period of an orbi...

But the average density of dark matter would be the same regardless of orbital size/period, even though the total amount of dark matter would differ with a larger orbit - right? Or, more likely, I'm misunderstanding something. Is the average density of dark matter smaller in a star system than it is...

Thanks for your help. What are some of the other examples of physical observations that imply there is dark matter? Why doesn't dark matter have the same effect on planets in a solar/star system as it does on stars in a galaxy? (In other words, why doesn't it make Jupiter orbit at the same speed as ...

If I understand correctly, the search for dark matter is due to the fact that the observable mass (normal matter) in a galaxy is not sufficient to account for its form or the motions of the stars. If normal matter was all that was there, then the stars around the edge of the galaxy should be rotatin...

I was also under the false impression that black holes somehow held galaxies together. What holds the stars together? Their mutual gravitational attraction? Dark matter?

I believe this is the information that I was lacking, given by Chris above - "In fact, there is no physical law being broken by two objects moving apart faster than c. The rules only require that information can't be transferred between them in that case." I had understood before that no r...

So the geometry of the universe is or can expand faster than the speed of light? Isn't that expansion a measured quantity? Is that quantity less than c? If so, for two galaxies to be further than 13 billion years apart would require either the big bang to have happened longer ago than we think, or m...

Asking the same question another way: If the universe is only 13 billion years old (or, in other words, all matter in our visible universe was contained in a singularity 13 billion years ago at the time of the big bang), how can two galaxies be 26 billion light years apart if they can't move faster ...

I just read an article called "Scientists pinpoint the farthest galaxy" at : http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/20/5322427-scientists-pinpoint-the-farthest-galaxy It discussed Hubble finding a galaxy with redshift 8.55 in the Hubble ultra deep field image. My question is - If we ...