Has Jupiter sent cosmology down a false trail?

Has Jupiter sent cosmology down a false trail?

www.newscientist.com

It's supposed to be the "gold standard" of evidence supporting the standard model of cosmology – including dark matter, dark energy and the exponential expansion after the big bang known as inflation.

But could it be wrong? Might misleading measurements by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) have been leading us towards the wrong theory of cosmology? One astrophysicist thinks so, and he says the planet Jupiter is to blame

(visit the link for the full news article)

Now Shanks and his PhD student Utane Sawangwit have recalibrated the data using objects such as radio galaxies observed by WMAP that also emit microwaves. The result is a spectrum that is compatible with a host of theories that the WMAP team claims to have ruled out. For example, one-dimensional cosmic strings – defects in the fabric of space-time – or modified laws of gravity might explain the clumping of matter that is currently attributed to the dark matter and dark energy of the standard model. "If we're right, that would be incredibly important for cosmology,"

The problem is why would Jupiter produce an unreliable microwave background?

The WMAP team isn't taking the challenge lying down. They claim that the radio sources observed by WMAP coincide with spots of the sky where the temperature is slightly higher, making the calibration inaccurate. "We're happy to defend WMAP,"

So if you think you have the correct explanation for the cosmic microwave background, most likely you are incorrect. Several explanations exist and none to date fit the data entirely!

Or as another commenter said:

Since when is there any theory in science that is cast in stone? True science is a hypothesis and is in a constant sate of flux but when that flux starts to solidify at the behest of a group of scientists then it is no more science, merely big ego....

Big Bang or Big Ego?

www.newscientist.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by plumranch


I always suspected Jupiter was up to no good. Sitting there all big and smug with that gaudy big red spot. This just confirms it.

On a more serious note, nice find. It will be interesting to see how this one works out.

I love the comment about science being a big flux as well. I often point that out myself. It is foolish to get so attached to any one theory or "fact" that you are unwilling to let it go in light of new evidence.