In case you haven’t heard, astronomers have discovered the missing matter in our universe. According to the current cosmological model, matter is dispersed through the universe in a 70% dark energy, 25% dark matter, and 5% ordinary matter ratio. The ordinary matter, like we all know and love, has only been measured to around 50% of what they thought was out there. This missing matter was hiding where they thought it might be, but had no direct evidence to show. Until now. This matter was assumed to be in gaseous form residing in the vast distances of space, but we had no way to measure it.
There are these occurences known as FRB’s (Fast Radio Bursts) A FBR was caught recently (last year sometime). With very quick follow ups with other observational telescopes they were able to pinpoint the location of the FRB. Using the redshift analysis they determined this galaxy is 6 billion light years out.
While we can detect FRB’s, they havent been able to get a location on one quick enough to determine it’s location. They got this one. Which is only part of the challenge. Knowing the distance is only 1 key aspect, but a big one.
Now what they know about these FRB’s is the radio waves disperse as they travel through matter in space. The radio waves with higher energy/frequency arrive before the lower frequency waves. The amount of dispersion depends on the amount of matter they encounter. This discrepency combined with the location of the event that caused the FRB allowed them ( I am not sure who they are) to indirectly measure the matter these radio waves traveled through. It fits the model!
This is kind of a big deal actually. When data comes together to confirm a working theory we have what is known as science. Science being the best way known to understand this big old universe we live in. It works so much better than those other ways of knowing, and they can show their work!
I caught this first from Science Daily:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160224231734.htm
Also Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy did a great write up. I borrowed some of his knowledge of the radio wave dispersion in my write up. Mr. Plait goes into much detail, and considers the causes of FRB’s:
Evidence Based Reality 
Very cool. But you will never find your missing socks, the Invisible Pink Unicorn has raptured them out of your wash directly to Sock Heaven.
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So does that mean our surviving socks believe they will ultimately, if they live good sock lives, be reunited with their lost sock mates when they too leave our realm of reality?
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You’ll have to ask the socks. I just know that Her Holy Hoofiness leaves us evidence of her visits to our laundry rooms: She pokes holes in our clothes as she checks them for worthiness, and sometimes she will bless your white laundry with her special color. That’s more proof than I’ve ever seen from Biblegod!
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Ha! And will always be more proof than they have to offer 🙂
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Cool shit, man. Cool shit.
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Cool. And your missing socks are on the same planet where Tupperware lids go.
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I am somewhat taken aback with the realization that there is a huge sock/tupperware lid party on a planet somewhere. Now I know where my missing margarita salt went!
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No, not there, I’m afraid. That, my friend, is still a mystery.
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Dammit man! I thought I was on to something…
Do you know how much of a struggle it is to drink margaritas with no salt?
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Definitely cool stuff. And it’s truly amazing to think there is a place out there just full of lids, pens, lone socks…it has to have a pretty significant gravitational field by now. 🙂
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Heck around here it seems a sock goes missing at least once a week (household of 4) so just my families contribution to this “lost” zone will be huge. I can’t imagine an entire populations worth of missing items. Seriously where the heck does it all go?
I may have to start believeing in pink unicorns and alien planets of lost goods…
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