Our Universe Rotates Around Its ‘Axis Of Evil’

A team of scientists from the University of Michigan led by Michael Longo, while exploring the direction of rotation of 15 872 spiral galaxies, came to the conclusion that our universe may have been rotating around its axis as whirligig from its birth. In addition, the studies of the Americans actually disprove the hypothesis that the universe is isotropic and symmetric.

The research was conducted as a part of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). At first, scientists tried to find evidence that the universe has the properties of mirror symmetry. In this case, they reasoned, the number of galaxies that rotate clockwise and those that are “twisted” in the opposite direction, would be the same.

However, it turned out that towards the north pole of the Milky Way counterclockwise rotation among spiral galaxies is dominant, that is, they are oriented in the right direction. This trend is visible even at a distance of more than 600 million light years.

Of course, it all seems quite arbitrary, because if the observer is positioned at the other side, it would seem that the galaxy is moving in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, the notion of the direction of rotation is fully applicable to the visible galaxies projected onto the celestial sphere.

The head of the research team Michael Longo said that the symmetry distortion is small, approximately seven percent, but the likelihood that this is a cosmic accident is somewhere around one millionth. He commented that the results of the research are important because they seem to contradict the nearly universal notion that at a sufficiently large scale, the universe is isotropic, i.e., does not have a pronounced direction.

Also read: Grigori Perelman claims he can control Universe

The researchers say that the symmetric and isotropic universe should have formed from a spherically symmetric explosion. Such an explosion should have resembled a basketball in shape. However, if at birth the universe revolved around its axis in one direction, then the galaxies would have retained the rotation. Since they rotate in different directions, the Big Bang had a diverse focus. However, most likely, the universe is still spinning, as suggested by Longo’s research.

Incidentally, a few years ago, an American space probe engaged in measuring the temperature of radiation in different parts of the galaxies in space discovered a mysterious linear region that permeates the universe. It turned out that this line was the “backbone” around which the three-dimensional model of the universe is formed. This discovery has made significant adjustments to the ideas about the evolution of the universe that existed until recently.

For example, according to the theory of relativity, after the Big Bang the universe evolved randomly. However, measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation temperature suggest that its structure may have some systematic order. The entire structure of the universe is formed around the field line radiation, the so-called “axis of evil” as the researchers dubbed it.

Also read: The Devolving Universe

Previously, Michael Longo already assumed the “right” orientation of the universe. But then his calculations were subject to intense criticism from his colleagues. In particular, many have pointed out that people, analyzing any image unconsciously, give priority to the right side, as most of us are right-handed.

However, using special probabilistic methods, Longo managed to fix the error and obtain the results similar to the previous ones. Yet, a plausible answer to the question of why the “right” galaxies are predominant is yet to be found.

However, the principle of asymmetry is typical for most objects in the universe. Even the human body is not symmetrical, and there are always more or less noticeable differences between the right and left sides, not to mention the location of the internal organs with the heart on the left, liver on the right, and so on. We can assume that the same principle is observed in other areas of the universe.

To date, Longo’s group studied only the galaxies located in the northern hemisphere of the sky as the telescope project SDSS is located in New Mexico. In their continued work scientists will study the southern hemisphere – in theory, there galaxies rotating clockwise should be dominating.

Our Universe Rotates Around Its ‘Axis Of Evil’ | Before It’s News.

Irina Shlionskaya
Pravda.Ru

Related articles

• Dark Matter Haters to the Left [Starts With A Bang] (scienceblogs.com)
• Why does your galaxy spin? [Starts With A Bang] (scienceblogs.com)
• What is The Earth’s Rotation (scienceray.com)
• Universe born in a spin – and still whirling? (holykaw.alltop.com)
• If the universe happens to be spinning would the axis of rotation mark where the Big Bang started AND would a spinning universe necessitate revisions to Relativity or Quantum Mechanics (wiki.answers.com)

Spectacular pics of the milky way

By Daily Mail Reporter

24th May 2011

Taken from the surface of the Earth using a digital camera, these beautiful images show the Milky Way in all its awe-inspiring glory.

Created by up-and-coming photographer Bret Webster, they are all the more remarkable because he has been taking pictures for only three years.

But since one of them – called Balanced – appeared in National Geographic magazine, his life has taken a new direction.

Though his photos of our galaxy look more like something that would be captured by sophisticated equipment aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, Mr Webster takes them using the simple digital camera his wife gave him and a tripod.

An autumn evening over a collection of hoodoos in Goblin Valley National Park in Green River, Utah. Haze in the air adds colour to the Milky Way near the horizon

Using the night skies of the national parks of his home state of Utah in the United States as his canvas, Mr Webster has created stunning images that highlight the relative insignificance of the Earth in the cosmos.

‘I feel a deep affinity for the Utah desert and I have always been in awe when visiting the Arches National Park and Canyon Lands,’said the 51-year-old, who has worked for 27 years as a rocket engineer and solid-fuel propellant specialist for US defence firm Northrop Grumman.

He said his new career took off when he borrowed his wife’s ‘new Nikon camera three years ago and having been a return visitor to the national parks of Utah I know where some of the best spots are’.

‘For me,’ he added: ‘the pictures that bring (together) the ancient American native rock paintings and the Milky Way are the most powerful.’

Our galaxy: The Milky Way, again seen through a close-set pair of natural arches in Arches National Park

Some of the paintings that inspire him are believed to have been created by an ancient people called the Western Archaic Culture up to 8,000 years ago.

‘In my pictures, I like to make it clear that the view when these paintings were made would have been similar 8,000 years before, and will be similar 8,000 years hence.

‘Our existence is just part of this huge Milky Way.

Now working with a Canon 5D MK2 on a tripod pointed at the sky and using a 30-60 second exposure, his images rely on the quality of the camera equipment.

‘Digital cameras have become so advanced that it is now possible to take these pictures from the surface of the Earth and use their sensors to capture thousands of stars in the night sky.

‘Southern Utah is one of the darkest parts of the United States and the camera amplifies the light available from the Milky Way.

Spectacular: The Milky Way rises above the Landscape Arch on a cold November night after a storm

Stunning shots: Mr Webster used special illumination and the Milky Way galaxy to create his vision of an alien landscape at Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah (left). The beautiful Milky Way provides the background for Native American art on a rock (right)

‘I use very wide and very fast lenses, sometimes even a 15mm fisheye, which helps capture the full Milky Way with 180-degree panorama.

He adds that he enjoys the natural elements that remind him of the passage of geologic time and tries to bring this out in his pictures.

‘I see the universe at work all around in the canyons. The erosion of the rocks, the wind that blows through the canyons, and the wildlife that roam the plains.’

‘I am just trying to capture a little piece of the story.’

As he has to shoot in temperatures of -12C and hike for hours to elevations of  6,000ft or more to take his pictures, his passion for photography is evident.

‘I know where all the secret spots are to capture the beauty of the Milky Way at night. To see our place in the scheme of things is what makes my spine tingle when I take these pictures.’ he said.

The Holy Ghost Panel rock painting in Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park in San Juan, Utah, photographed with the Milky Way in the background

Rookie photographer Bret Webster takes stunning shots of the Milky Way using a simple digital camera | Mail Online.