600 Mysteries in the Night Sky

Ok, so maybe not what you might think with a headline like that but still that was the headline ans it is an interesting report and goes to show how telescopes like Fermi are helping us unlock the mysteries of the universe. Primarily it seems buy posing new questions. But speculation is ripe that this may actually be signs of the elusive Dark Matter or it could be something entirely new.
Only time will tell I guess.

science.nasa.gov...

NASA's Fermi team recently released the second catalog of gamma-ray sources detected by their satellite's Large Area Telescope (LAT). Of the 1873 sources found, nearly 600 are complete mysteries. No one knows what they are.

"Fermi sees gamma rays coming from directions in the sky where there are no obvious objects likely to produce gamma rays," says David Thompson, Fermi Deputy Project Scientist from Goddard Space Flight Center.

For two thirds of the new catalog's sources the Fermi scientists can, with at least reasonable certainty, locate a known gamma ray-producing object*, such as a pulsar or blazar, in the vicinity the gamma-rays are coming from. But the remaining third – the "mystery sources" -- have the researchers stumped, at least for now. And they are the most tantalizing.

Nearly 600 sources in the latest Fermi catalog are unidentified. "Some of the mystery sources could be clouds of dark matter – something that's never been seen before," speculates Thompson.

www.nasa.gov...

things like this just shows us how much we still need to learn and figure out.

the universe is a humbling thing.

SnF

reply to post by pazcat


hi pazzcat.
nice post. 600 sources of gamma rays with no apparent origins. i will check out the fermi site to see if they have a 3d mapping of the rays. it would be surprising if it was found they had a pattern/grid like setup but hey i'm only thinking outside the norm here.
s and f
regards fakedirt

reply to post by fakedirt


Hi
I have added another link which has a bit more info on the 2 year study.
Also a piechart. I can't seem to find a fully labelled map though.

How about some kind of cloaking device technology to hide populated planets and ships, and the by-product of this tech is gamma rays.. perhaps this is why we not seen any populated planets, perhaps they are hiding.
This is unknown so you cant debunk me, my guess is as good as yours

reply to post by Vandalour


Well you've got a point, it could also be the end result of civilisations that just as they are to embark on the discovery of interstellar travel the laws of physics prevent it and blow the whole place to hell.

Could be, but I would bet any money on it.

Originally posted by Vandalour
How about some kind of cloaking device technology to hide populated planets and ships, and the by-product of this tech is gamma rays.. perhaps this is why we not seen any populated planets, perhaps they are hiding.
This is unknown so you cant debunk me, my guess is as good as yours

edit on 18-10-2011 by Vandalour because: (no reason given)

tell you the truth my first thoughts were like maybe its a sign of other beings technology, their source of energy, but i like your idea of cloaking their planets more..

An all-sky map of gamma-ray emissions made by the Fermi Space Telescope. Hundreds of the sources in the map are complete mysteries

Larger image can be seen here.
www.nasa.gov...

reply to post by pazcat

after downloading the bigger map, i am finding that the events are mostly in and surrounded by the light blue region (weaker gamma signal perhaps?) and in some areas where there are groupings, it seems they are within filaments or a better way to put it would be contiguous areas/streaks of light blue regions. the more i look at the map, the more patterns i see. better go and give my head a shake outside in the wind.
pazcat, thanks for the extra info. truly a grand mystery!

fakedirt.
nearest i've got to a 3d image is the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) map btw.

reply to post by fakedirt


Yeah I couldn't find a better map, maybe Fermi will release one given time. The difference with the 2MASS one is that it was compiled by two ground based telescopes and want contain the same data as the Fermi which was designed to looke specially for Gamma Rays.