Mysterious radio waves emitted from nearby galaxy

[TMMT]

Mysterious radio waves emitted from nearby galaxy

There is something strange in the cosmic neighbourhood. An unknown object in the nearby galaxy M82 has started sending out radio waves, and the emission does not look like anything seen anywhere in the universe before.

"We don't know what it is," says co-discoverer Tom Muxlow of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics near Macclesfield, UK.

The thing appeared in May last year, while Muxlow and his colleagues were monitoring an unrelated stellar explosion in M82 using the MERLIN network of radio telescopes in the UK. A bright spot of radio emission emerged over only a few days, quite rapidly in astronomical terms. Since then it has done very little except baffle astrophysicists.

It certainly does not fit the pattern of radio emissions from supernovae: they usually get brighter over a few weeks and then fade away over months, with the spectrum of the radiation changing all the while. The new source has hardly changed in brightness over the course of a year, and its spectrum is steady.

Warp speed

Yet it does seem to be moving – and fast: its apparent sideways velocity is four times the speed of light. Such apparent "superluminal" motion has been seen before in high-speed jets of material squirted out by some black holes. The stuff in these jets is moving towards us at a slight angle and travelling at a fair fraction of the speed of light, and the effects of relativity produce a kind of optical illusion that makes the motion appear superluminal.

Could the object be a black hole? It is not quite in the middle of M82, where astronomers would expect to find the kind of supermassive central black hole that most other galaxies have. Which leaves the possibility that it could be a smaller-scale "microquasar".

A microquasar is formed after a very massive star explodes, leaving behind a black hole around 10 to 20 times the mass of the sun, which then starts feeding on gas from a surviving companion star. Microquasars do emit radio waves – but none seen in our galaxy is as bright as the new source in M82. Microquasars also produce plenty of X-rays, whereas no X-rays have been seen from the mystery object. "So that's not right either", Muxlow told New Scientist.

His best guess is still that the radio source is some kind of dense object accreting surrounding material, perhaps a large black hole or a black hole in an unusual environment. Perhaps the phenomenon also happens occasionally in our galaxy, but is more common in M82 because it is a "starburst" galaxy – a cosmic cauldron where massive stars are forming and exploding at a much higher rate than in the Milky Way, creating a lot of new black holes.

Muxlow will report the discovery at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting in Glasgow, UK, today.

Mysterious radio waves emitted from nearby galaxy - space - 14 April 2010 - New Scientist

[enfield]

It's Elvis

[Mark@Sea]

Torchship?

Regardless, I blame global warming.

[Il Duce]

sorry everyone i had mexican and i farted

[Oh Shoot]

M82 is 12 million light years away, so even at 4x the speed of light, it's going to be a very slow conversation.

- OS

[Garufa]

Time to go to the grocery for some Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap. Need to start making hats before the waves hit.

[rab1961]

Time to go to the grocery for some Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap. Need to start making hats before the waves hit.

hahahahohohohehehe what he said

[MCSCOTT]

Hmmmm, maybe this is why Mike has been asking his questions here lately about UFO's and what we like to eat and drink. Aliens are coming to get us, and we're gonna all be eating pizza and drinking sweet tea and a still undetermined adult beverage.

[Bigiron]

The radio waves are telling me to buy more guns.

[Mike.357]

M82 is 12 million light years away, so even at 4x the speed of light, it's going to be a very slow conversation.

- OS

Wormholes, we will know what they are saying in short order

I think they are saying to send more Coor's Light and BBQ Pizza

[Guest stovepipe]

I'm just glad someone else is picking up on these radio waves. I was starting feel all alone...

[Rightwinger]

You getting that on your dental work too! I need another frequency. I'll get Bronker to hit me upside the head as I don't want it to hurt switching channels!

[leroy]

Yet it does seem to be moving – and fast: its apparent sideways velocity is four times the speed of light. Such apparent "superluminal" motion has been seen before in high-speed jets of material squirted out by some black holes. The stuff in these jets is moving towards us at a slight angle and travelling at a fair fraction of the speed of light, and the effects of relativity produce a kind of optical illusion that makes the motion appear superluminal.

It's the Astral Overseers!!

In the not too distant future, the mysterious and benign, extra-terrestrial Astral Overseers put into motion their master plan to help tip the balance of certain inequities on planet earth. They began to mutate a variety of animal species on Earth to evolve into self-aware or sentient life. This new level of animal life possessed all of their original feral strengths, speed, and qualities, an intelligence equal to that of humans, and some say, even new powers.

Immediately gaining a new and more profound understanding of the danger that certain humans presented to their kind, this new breed of sentient creatures remained hidden from human view for years as they developed their own society and culture, albeit somewhat loosely based and culled from observing humans and their media.

An immediate goal for these creatures was to organize, and begin resisting the human destruction and domination of what was once their "natural" habitat. Strangely, as they increased in strength, numbers, and sophistication, their tactics, tastes, and habits were increasingly becoming more "human" in many ways.

Full of conflict, contradiction, frustration, anger and the desire to save themselves and their world, a resistance movement emerged. The first of these resistance cells was the "Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo" . . . .

Check here for details: http://www.rocketworld.org/iwg.php

Time is running out for us humans!!!

"Tinfoil" Leroy

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Whenever I receive messages like that, my farts change pitch.