The HubbleSite has recently released a new image of a very distant quasar being gravitationally lensed by a cluster of galaxies. This newly discovered lensing amplifies the light from a quasar that is approximately 10 billion light years away.
all pretty cool... but personally i just love seeing hubble deep field images :D there is a metric s***load of galaxies out there! :P

http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2006/23/images/a/formats/large_web.jpg

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the first-ever picture of a group of five star-like images of a single distant quasar.

The multiple-image effect seen in the Hubble picture is produced by a process called gravitational lensing, in which the gravitational field of a massive object — in this case, a cluster of galaxies — bends and amplifies light from an object — in this case, a quasar — farther behind it.

source link

that looks awesome, but i don't see any multiple picture effect.

where are the aliens already :(

there just has to be life in the universe with all those galixies...

in this case, a cluster of galaxies — bends and amplifies light from an object

Amplify is the wrong term (by definition). There are only a finite number of photons coming from the object, which don't actually get added to by the lens. The photons also don't get bigger (by another interpretation of 'amplify').

Perhaps 'focus' would have been better ...

Let's say it amplifies the focus. Does that make you happy Mr Pedantipants?

there just has to be life in the universe with all those galixies...

Reckon, or else that's a big waste of frickin' space!

Holy f***...

awsome..absolutly awsome

there probably is life in the universe
but no they haven't come here, there are no men dressed in suits that apparently make them harder to see, and alf is still retarded


also: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
bookmark that link, it updates every day

Explanation: What's happening near the center of this cluster of galaxies? At first glance, it appears that several strangely elongated galaxies and fully five bright quasars exist there. In reality, an entire cluster of galaxies is acting as a gigantic gravitational lens that distorts and multiply-images bright objects that occur far in the distance. The five bright white points near the cluster center are actually images of a single distant quasar. This Hubble Space Telescope image is so detailed that even the host galaxy surrounding the quasar is visible. Close inspection of the above image will reveal that the arced galaxies at 2 and 4 o'clock are actually gravitationally lensed images of the same galaxy. A third image of that galaxy can be found at about 10 o'clock from the cluster center. Serendipitously, numerous strange and distant galaxies dot the above image like colorful jewels. The cluster of galaxy that acts as the huge gravitational lens is cataloged as SDSS J1004+4112 and lies about 7 billion light years distant toward the constellation of Leo Minor.

So shiny!
How much space/time is in that pic?

thats so photoshop'd i can tell just by looking

How much space/time is in that pic?

I guess considering how far away they are, those systems are actually located millions of miles away from where they appear in the photos... it's like looking back in time... If you could magnify it enough and find life, that life probably is long gone by now! WOAH!#!!!!

DYSWIDT?

It sucks that we're never gonna know whats out there in our lifetime.

8-(

ISWYDT.

not in yours anyway rev
LOL!

Amplify is the wrong term (by definition). There are only a finite number of photons coming from the object, which don't actually get added to by the lens.

the lensing concentrates the light, so whereas the naked eye sees only a diffuse ammount of light the lensing (both gravitational & optical) concentrate & focus the incoming light making it brighter. ie: amplifying it.

How much space/time is in that pic?

Object Name: SDSS J1004+4112
Object Description: Galaxy cluster gravitational lens
Position (J2000): R.A. 10h 04m 11s.84
Dec. +41° 12' 50".4
Constellation: Leo Minor
Distance: The distance to the galaxy cluster gravitational lens is roughly 7 billion light-years (2.1 Gigaparsecs). The distance to the quasar being lensed is roughly 10 billion light-years (3 Gigaparsecs). The distance to the farthest galaxy being lensed into an arc is 12 billion light-years (3.7 Gigaparsecs).

Dimensions: This image is 1.9 arcminutes wide.

That much! :D

It sucks that we're never gonna know whats out there in our lifetime.

i reckon there is a whole heap of elements & various combination compounds making a wide array of matter & energy through various physical processes. :D

demon, this topic isn't very interesting at all

I just ran out of meat patties for joy to cook :(
so many buns, so little meat

10 billion light-years is
Ninety-four billion trillion, six-hundred and five billion billion, two-hundred and eighty four thousand trillion (94,605,284,000,000,000,000,000) kilometres away :O
that would take the space shuttle (in orbit speed) about 381,668,432,087,147 years to reach it

if the universe is infinite, wouldn't that mean that there's essentially an infinite amount of life in the galaxy?

OMG space is awesome!

last edited by thre3dee at 20:12:33 25/May/06

Well, there would have to be a finite amount of life in the universe, but there is sure to be a s*** load more than we know of today. Give it 100 years and I'm sure we will have found some of it.

but! assuming that the universe is truly infinite, and knowing that life is only a small percentage of the universe, then even if it isnt the whole thing it would still have to be inifite, because even a percentage of infinite cannot theoretically be a finite amount. in other words 50% of zero is never going to be anything else than zero.

thats my theory

Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, the universe isn't infinite. There is as outer edge to it. What lies beyond the universe (known as the void) doesn't qualify as a something, and so the argument continues.

yes well mine was only assuming the universe is infinite. Otherwise there be a finite amount of life.

anyone heard of the 'bounce' theory instead of the Big Bang theory? apparently there was an original universe that collapsed in on itself then 'bounced' back out toward its original size or something.

Its not new, but yeah, heard of it. It has merit, but doesn’t change anything for us now. Current studies show that our universe will continue to expand for ever.
For a universe before our, I subscribe more to a "big crunch" as a more plausible before our universe theory. For example, ask yourself what might happen to a black hole once there is nothing else left to consume. Imagine the previous universe being reduced by black holes which finally merge and then.... ? For me, I think this is what lead to the big bang and the current state of our universe.

the world is flat man. everyone knows that.

demon, this topic isn't very interesting at all

u rn't

as for alien life in our universe, the drake equation maintains that it is 'highly likely' & looking at that sea of galaxies, each one containing billions of stars, i agree. :D

thre3dee: i'm afraid the big bounce theory is fast losing favour with the mainstream scientific community due to the current understanding of how elements are generated in our existing universe.
by observing that most of observable interstellar matter is hydrogen & that through the neuclear fusion of stars that hydrogen is converted to helium then to the next element on the periodic table, then to the next, etc... right upto when you get iron. at iron the power in even the biggest stellar furnace is not sufficient to convert iron to cobalt. however astronomers have discovered that supernova remnants have the chemical signiture of elements heavier than iron.
so if the heavier elements are created from the lighter elements in heat & pressure this must mean that the universe has never been compressed before & that the big bang was 'the beginning'! otherwise there would be an even distribution of heavy elements throughtout the universe & this is not what astronomers see.

it's u r'nt

For the "infinite universe" people, the universe can still be infinite while only encompassing a finite volume of space. The thing is that as soon as you push out beyond the "edge" of the universe, you, being composed of matter will just be pushing the "edge" out ahead of you. The universe, pretty much by definition encompasses all matter and energy in existence.

Also since the universe appears to be expanding at an ever-increasing rate you'd be hard pressed to ever reach the "edge" unless someone figures out how to travel at superluminal speeds.