Fifty years since the Penzias-Wilson bombshell.

[ollypenrice]

French radio commemorated, today, the discovery of the cosmic microwave backround by Arno Penzias and Bob WIlson. I thought that was great!

If you don't know the story it's worth a read-up. It has a bit of everything, including a lot of humour around the names of the men who originally looked into the possibility of this relic radiation existing. Pigeon fanciers might want to give it a miss. 

Well, good on you Bob and Arno, you made the Big Bang respectable. Fifty years ago. Jeez.

Olly

[laudropb]

Got to agree. A great story about a wonderful discovery.

[Colinlp]

LOL Pigeons!

The big bang seems to been around forever, hard to think it's been pretty much in my lifetime since it's postulation

[Colinlp]

Going hugely off topic in a way only I can do, something that might appeal to you Olly.

A short article in June's Astronomy Now outlined a recent discovery of a gas halo surrounding the Andromeda galaxy. This halo extends to approximately half way between itself and the milky way and estimates suggest that it holds about half the mass of the known galaxy.

Now if we have something similar then the two galaxies could already be physically interacting, in time as they move closer together the density of this gas should increase at intersection and form new stars. How cool is that?

Also make you think about dark matter with such a hidden mass

[ollypenrice]

Going hugely off topic in a way only I can do, something that might appeal to you Olly.

A short article in June's Astronomy Now outlined a recent discovery of a gas halo surrounding the Andromeda galaxy. This halo extends to approximately half way between itself and the milky way and estimates suggest that it holds about half the mass of the known galaxy.

Now if we have something similar then the two galaxies could already be physically interacting, in time as they move closer together the density of this gas should increase at intersection and form new stars. How cool is that?

Also make you think about dark matter with such a hidden mass

Living in the outback I haven't got my copy yet but this does sound exciting! Will Richard Branson start proposing weekends in M31? Ryanair will doubtless be in there too - but there will be a surcharge of ten million euros if you survive and want to disembark on returning to earth.

Olly

[Uranium235]

Ryanair will doubtless be in there too

Nah, they'll only take you as far as M32, after that its a taxi for the rest of the trip

[Scott]

Living in the outback I haven't got my copy yet but this does sound exciting! Will Richard Branson start proposing weekends in M31? Ryanair will doubtless be in there too - but there will be a surcharge of ten million euros if you survive and want to disembark on returning to earth.

Olly

Oi !!!! don't you be pinching our outback It's one of our few claims to fame 

[ollypenrice]

Oi !!!! don't you be pinching our outback It's one of our few claims to fame 

Stoke on Trent? Cor blimey, you can get to civilization from there in less than two days... if you have a decent helicopter.

lly

[Scott]

Stoke on Trent? Cor blimey, you can get to civilization from there in less than two days... if you have a decent helicopter.

lly

haha, I was thinking more along the lines of the first half of my user name

[Colinlp]

Back on topic, I remember when I was at uni in Liverpool, one morning in 2003 at the start of some lecture I've forgotten about there was this newsflash moment as someone came in an interrupted us to show us the WMAP picture and explain its significance