QSO H1821 643 Indicates a Universe Filled with Hydrogen
Explanation:
A quasar slightly depleted of a specific color of
light may indicate that our universe is filled with
massive amounts of
ionized
hydrogen.
Light from QSO H1821+643,
pictured above, comes to us from about a
quarter of the way across the
visible universe.
Detailed
analysis now indicates that a tiny amount of this
quasar's light
was absorbed by intervening ionized
oxygen.
Astronomers intuit that this oxygen is surely
accompanied by much more abundant
ionized hydrogen, which would otherwise be invisible.
The oxygen is thus thought to be the tip of a tremendous
iceberg, indicating a universe filled with
proton and
electron
clouds so vast they likely exceed the mass of all the
stars combined.
Still, this is only a
small part of the long-sought
dark matter
astronomers
have been searching for.
Our
universe is thought to be filled with much more
abundant, much
stranger forms of
dark matter.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
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NASA Official: Jay Norris.
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rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.