Astronomers Take Close-Up Pictures of Mysterious Dark Object

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Apr. 8, 2010) — For the first time, astronomers have directly observed the mysterious dark companion in a binary star system that has puzzled skywatchers since the 19th century.

Using an instrument developed at the University of Michigan, scientists have taken close-up pictures of Epsilon Aurigae during its eclipse, which happens every 27 years. "Close up" in this case is a relative term, but the images zoom in enough to show the shape of the dark object's shadow.

"Seeing is believing," said John Monnier, an associate professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy who is an author of a paper about the research findings published in the April 8 edition of Nature. Researchers from the University of Denver and Georgia State University were involved as well.

Epsilon Aurigae is the fifth brightest star in the northern constellation Auriga. For more than 175 years, astronomers have known it is dimmer than it should be, given its mass. They also noticed its brightness dip for more than a year every few decades. They surmised that it was a binary system in which one companion was invisible. But what type of object was the companion?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100407134815.htm

Diskworld?

[donco6]

1. LOL! It does look like Discworld.

Bizarre.

[Orrex]

9. That's about the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in this forum.

If it were the Discworld, you'd obviously be able to see the elephants, not to mention the Great A'Tuin.


Try to stay current with the science involved, please.

[donco6]

11. I thought I saw a tusk sticking out a little.

But your right, no turtle.

[onehandle]

2. Must be.

[DJ13]

3. Niven may have been onto something

[The Doctor.]

6. "Mote in God's Eye"?

[DJ13]

7. Ringworld

[damntexdem]

8. Are those damn Moties at it again?

Wait, is there a red giant nearby?

;-)

[Fumesucker]

10. No, Pak Protectors built the Ringworld..

Do try to keep up.. :)

[The Doctor.]

12. Teh Geek! It Brunz!

[Fumesucker]

14. LOLZ.. Who but a geek would be reading the science forum in the first place..

Eh?

[The Doctor.]

15. Your Geek is impressive.

May the Geek be with you.

[blueworld]

4. Fascinating. I love your posts. Thanks. n/t

[Daphne08]

5. Thanks!

[OneBlueSky]

13. the vastness of the universe never ceases to amaze me . . .

makes you realize just how puny and insignificant human actions really are in the grand scheme of things . . . the total sum of all human knowledge is the equivilant of a fingernail in relationship to an entire human body -- whatever we think we "know," there is vastly more that we don't know about creation, and likely never will . . .