Maybe far away is relative.Cooter wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:51 pmBut most of them are extremely far away.Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 9:43 am I recall reading that the universe is made up of more stars than there are grains of sands on every beach on the planet. Mind boggling.
Science & Engineering
-
- Posts: 32460
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:10 pm
Re: Science & Engineering
“You lucky I ain’t read wretched yet!”
Re: Science & Engineering
I suspect it will turn out to be rather mundane once understood. Just one more weird cosmic object. The fact that it repeats is not significant, we have been observing pulsars for 60 years. What is strange is the frequency of repetition, very low. This is a signature for a structure of great size being responsible. Obviously a very high energy source, neutron star, black hole, etc., probably orbiting in a multiple star system. Perhaps even a larger system. Very skeptical about it being a signature of some alien intelligence. I believe all the FRBs observed to date have been attributed to extragalactic sources. Likely that based on this observation, CHIME will find that other FRBs are repeating with very low frequency, probably even lower frequency.Kismet wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:58 am https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-radio ... y-16-days/
"A mysterious deep space radio burst is sending signals to Earth every 16 days
By Sophie Lewis
February 11, 2020 / 2:50 PM / CBS News
A mysterious object in a galaxy 500 million light-years away is confusing scientists with its signals. It appears to be transmitting signals that reach Earth in a repeating, 16-day pattern, but researchers have no idea why.
According to a recent study, this marks the first time astronomers have detected a reliable pattern in the signals, known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs. It's an important step in figuring out where the bursts originate from.
Before now, such pulses appeared to be random in timing. That changed when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) discovered a repeating pattern."
Thoughts on how significant this could be?
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
Re: Science & Engineering
# stars in Milky Way about 10^11 (ten raised to the 11th power). Majority of them are smaller/cooler/dimmer than our Sun (red dwarfs).Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 6:22 pmMaybe far away is relative.Cooter wrote: ↑Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:51 pmBut most of them are extremely far away.Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 9:43 am I recall reading that the universe is made up of more stars than there are grains of sands on every beach on the planet. Mind boggling.
Re: Science & Engineering
The regular nature of the signal is the key - there are lots of processes connected to rotation/orbit that are very regular (as a pulsar). But there are always those who first look at a source like this and think something like "beacon" instead of looking for a natural regular process.jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:14 amI suspect it will turn out to be rather mundane once understood. Just one more weird cosmic object. The fact that it repeats is not significant, we have been observing pulsars for 60 years. What is strange is the frequency of repetition, very low. This is a signature for a structure of great size being responsible. Obviously a very high energy source, neutron star, black hole, etc., probably orbiting in a multiple star system. Perhaps even a larger system. Very skeptical about it being a signature of some alien intelligence. I believe all the FRBs observed to date have been attributed to extragalactic sources. Likely that based on this observation, CHIME will find that other FRBs are repeating with very low frequency, probably even lower frequency.Kismet wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:58 am https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-radio ... y-16-days/
"A mysterious deep space radio burst is sending signals to Earth every 16 days
By Sophie Lewis
February 11, 2020 / 2:50 PM / CBS News
A mysterious object in a galaxy 500 million light-years away is confusing scientists with its signals. It appears to be transmitting signals that reach Earth in a repeating, 16-day pattern, but researchers have no idea why.
According to a recent study, this marks the first time astronomers have detected a reliable pattern in the signals, known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs. It's an important step in figuring out where the bursts originate from.
Before now, such pulses appeared to be random in timing. That changed when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) discovered a repeating pattern."
Thoughts on how significant this could be?
Astro trivia here - the first discovered pulsar signal was initially named LGM-1. What does LGM stand for?
Re: Science & Engineering
Can I play or is this reserved for non-physicists?RedFromMI wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:13 amThe regular nature of the signal is the key - there are lots of processes connected to rotation/orbit that are very regular (as a pulsar). But there are always those who first look at a source like this and think something like "beacon" instead of looking for a natural regular process.jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:14 amI suspect it will turn out to be rather mundane once understood. Just one more weird cosmic object. The fact that it repeats is not significant, we have been observing pulsars for 60 years. What is strange is the frequency of repetition, very low. This is a signature for a structure of great size being responsible. Obviously a very high energy source, neutron star, black hole, etc., probably orbiting in a multiple star system. Perhaps even a larger system. Very skeptical about it being a signature of some alien intelligence. I believe all the FRBs observed to date have been attributed to extragalactic sources. Likely that based on this observation, CHIME will find that other FRBs are repeating with very low frequency, probably even lower frequency.Kismet wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:58 am https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-radio ... y-16-days/
"A mysterious deep space radio burst is sending signals to Earth every 16 days
By Sophie Lewis
February 11, 2020 / 2:50 PM / CBS News
A mysterious object in a galaxy 500 million light-years away is confusing scientists with its signals. It appears to be transmitting signals that reach Earth in a repeating, 16-day pattern, but researchers have no idea why.
According to a recent study, this marks the first time astronomers have detected a reliable pattern in the signals, known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs. It's an important step in figuring out where the bursts originate from.
Before now, such pulses appeared to be random in timing. That changed when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) discovered a repeating pattern."
Thoughts on how significant this could be?
Astro trivia here - the first discovered pulsar signal was initially named LGM-1. What does LGM stand for?
PS - if it turns out to be some "natural regular process", that would be bigger news. 16 day period for something like that seems unlikely. I'll go with beacon until proven wrong. Now if they can verify other FRBs are regularly repeatable and have the same period, that would be a strong indicator that it is some "natural regular process". If other FRBs have different periods (I am guessing longer or they would likely have been seen by now) that argues for the beacon model.
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
-
- Posts: 32460
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:10 pm
Re: Science & Engineering
You ever see the movie Moon?jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 1:59 pmCan I play or is this reserved for non-physicists?RedFromMI wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:13 amThe regular nature of the signal is the key - there are lots of processes connected to rotation/orbit that are very regular (as a pulsar). But there are always those who first look at a source like this and think something like "beacon" instead of looking for a natural regular process.jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:14 amI suspect it will turn out to be rather mundane once understood. Just one more weird cosmic object. The fact that it repeats is not significant, we have been observing pulsars for 60 years. What is strange is the frequency of repetition, very low. This is a signature for a structure of great size being responsible. Obviously a very high energy source, neutron star, black hole, etc., probably orbiting in a multiple star system. Perhaps even a larger system. Very skeptical about it being a signature of some alien intelligence. I believe all the FRBs observed to date have been attributed to extragalactic sources. Likely that based on this observation, CHIME will find that other FRBs are repeating with very low frequency, probably even lower frequency.Kismet wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:58 am https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-radio ... y-16-days/
"A mysterious deep space radio burst is sending signals to Earth every 16 days
By Sophie Lewis
February 11, 2020 / 2:50 PM / CBS News
A mysterious object in a galaxy 500 million light-years away is confusing scientists with its signals. It appears to be transmitting signals that reach Earth in a repeating, 16-day pattern, but researchers have no idea why.
According to a recent study, this marks the first time astronomers have detected a reliable pattern in the signals, known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs. It's an important step in figuring out where the bursts originate from.
Before now, such pulses appeared to be random in timing. That changed when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) discovered a repeating pattern."
Thoughts on how significant this could be?
Astro trivia here - the first discovered pulsar signal was initially named LGM-1. What does LGM stand for?
PS - if it turns out to be some "natural regular process", that would be bigger news. 16 day period for something like that seems unlikely. I'll go with beacon until proven wrong. Now if they can verify other FRBs are regularly repeatable and have the same period, that would be a strong indicator that it is some "natural regular process". If other FRBs have different periods (I am guessing longer or they would likely have been seen by now) that argues for the beacon model.
“You lucky I ain’t read wretched yet!”
Re: Science & Engineering
If I am understanding you correctly, I don't think that is what is meant by "natural regular process" in this case. I believe Red is using that phrase to rule out something attributable to orbital / planetary mechanics (rotation). The beacon model would make use of such orbital / planetary mechanics.Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:18 pmYou ever see the movie Moon?jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 1:59 pmCan I play or is this reserved for non-physicists?RedFromMI wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:13 amThe regular nature of the signal is the key - there are lots of processes connected to rotation/orbit that are very regular (as a pulsar). But there are always those who first look at a source like this and think something like "beacon" instead of looking for a natural regular process.jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:14 amI suspect it will turn out to be rather mundane once understood. Just one more weird cosmic object. The fact that it repeats is not significant, we have been observing pulsars for 60 years. What is strange is the frequency of repetition, very low. This is a signature for a structure of great size being responsible. Obviously a very high energy source, neutron star, black hole, etc., probably orbiting in a multiple star system. Perhaps even a larger system. Very skeptical about it being a signature of some alien intelligence. I believe all the FRBs observed to date have been attributed to extragalactic sources. Likely that based on this observation, CHIME will find that other FRBs are repeating with very low frequency, probably even lower frequency.Kismet wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2020 7:58 am https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-radio ... y-16-days/
"A mysterious deep space radio burst is sending signals to Earth every 16 days
By Sophie Lewis
February 11, 2020 / 2:50 PM / CBS News
A mysterious object in a galaxy 500 million light-years away is confusing scientists with its signals. It appears to be transmitting signals that reach Earth in a repeating, 16-day pattern, but researchers have no idea why.
According to a recent study, this marks the first time astronomers have detected a reliable pattern in the signals, known as fast radio bursts, or FRBs. It's an important step in figuring out where the bursts originate from.
Before now, such pulses appeared to be random in timing. That changed when the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst Project (CHIME/FRB) discovered a repeating pattern."
Thoughts on how significant this could be?
Astro trivia here - the first discovered pulsar signal was initially named LGM-1. What does LGM stand for?
PS - if it turns out to be some "natural regular process", that would be bigger news. 16 day period for something like that seems unlikely. I'll go with beacon until proven wrong. Now if they can verify other FRBs are regularly repeatable and have the same period, that would be a strong indicator that it is some "natural regular process". If other FRBs have different periods (I am guessing longer or they would likely have been seen by now) that argues for the beacon model.
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
Re: Science & Engineering
No guesses on LGM-1?
And by natural regular motions, I do mean orbits/rotations. That is how pulsars work.
And by natural regular motions, I do mean orbits/rotations. That is how pulsars work.
Re: Science & Engineering
I know the answer, I was allowing others to have the fun.
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
Re: Science & Engineering
Yes that is how pulsars work. I will have to go back and read you comment again, because I got the impression you were trying to not include those as possibilities.
PS - After re-reading - I really don't understand the meaning of your comment. Seems contradictory to me.
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
Re: Science & Engineering
I am sure you do. So for the others - the hint - think science fiction from over a hundred years ago...
Re: Science & Engineering
I may have worded it poorly. I actually would suspect something like a pair of black holes orbiting each other or some other massive coupling to get that sort of length of time for the period...jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:47 pmYes that is how pulsars work. I will have to go back and read you comment again, because I got the impression you were trying to not include those as possibilities.
PS - After re-reading - I really don't understand the meaning of your comment. Seems contradictory to me.
-
- Posts: 32460
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:10 pm
Re: Science & Engineering
“You lucky I ain’t read wretched yet!”
Re: Science & Engineering
Yes, I agree the period is likely the result of some orbital mechanics.RedFromMI wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:29 pmI may have worded it poorly. I actually would suspect something like a pair of black holes orbiting each other or some other massive coupling to get that sort of length of time for the period...jhu72 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:47 pmYes that is how pulsars work. I will have to go back and read you comment again, because I got the impression you were trying to not include those as possibilities.
PS - After re-reading - I really don't understand the meaning of your comment. Seems contradictory to me.
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
Re: Science & Engineering
I bought the book. Came yesterday. Have not had a chance to read it yet. Only about 100 pages.Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:05 pm https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/202 ... erver/amp/
STAND AGAINST FASCISM
-
- Posts: 32460
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:10 pm
Re: Science & Engineering
I am tempted to read it but I am not a trained scientist. I just love that stuff. With more encouragement in high school, I would have gone into a physical science.jhu72 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:08 amI bought the book. Came yesterday. Have not had a chance to read it yet. Only about 100 pages.Typical Lax Dad wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:05 pm https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/202 ... erver/amp/
“You lucky I ain’t read wretched yet!”
-
- Posts: 32460
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:10 pm
Re: Science & Engineering
“You lucky I ain’t read wretched yet!”
Re: Science & Engineering
STAND AGAINST FASCISM