A NASA sounding rocket experiment has detected a surprising surplus of infrared light in the dark space between galaxies, a diffuse cosmic glow as bright as all known galaxies combined. The glow is thought to be from orphaned stars flung out of galaxies.
The findings redefine what scientists think of as galaxies. Galaxies may not have a set boundary of stars, but instead stretch out to great distances, forming a vast, interconnected sea of stars.
Observations from the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment, or CIBER, are helping to settle a debate on the origins of this background infrared light in the universe, previously detected by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope: Whether it comes from these streams of stripped stars too distant to be seen individually, or from the first galaxies to form in the universe.
"We think stars are being scattered out into space during galaxy collisions," said Michael Zemcov, lead author of a new paper describing the results from the rocket project and an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "While we have previously observed cases where stars are flung from galaxies in a tidal stream, our new measurement implies this process is widespread." ...
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 1:54 am
by geckzilla
Coupled with a robust planetary system, an orphaned star would surely be a premium place to study astronomy, far away from the obscuring dust and interfering starlight of any parent galaxy. Their celestial sphere would obviously and continuously change, free of the seemingly static objects except for the faintest hints of the closest galaxies. The most noteworthy objects in their sky might then be the few that don't move rather than the few that do move.
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:06 am
by Nitpicker
geckzilla wrote:Coupled with a robust planetary system, an orphaned star would surely be a premium place to study astronomy, far away from the obscuring dust and interfering starlight of any parent galaxy. Their celestial sphere would obviously and continuously change, free of the seemingly static objects except for the faintest hints of the closest galaxies. The most noteworthy objects in their sky might then be the few that don't move rather than the few that do move.
I dunno. It would be much harder to observe various nebulas (obscuring and otherwise), clusters and a wide variety of stars as there would be nothing like that nearby. It would also be very difficult without a handy reference frame of "fixed" stars. Maybe if we were on the very edge of a galaxy, or above/below it in a halo, it might be better in some ways.
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:22 am
by geckzilla
There would still be some nearby galaxies to see some larger nebular structures. Planetary nebulas and other smaller structures would have to remain in the realm of theory and simulation. That would be sad, but not a terrible compromise for being able to study the overall cosmos unobstructed. Besides, advanced space telescopes may also be able to help out with that.
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:37 am
by Nitpicker
geckzilla wrote:There would still be some nearby galaxies to see some larger nebular structures. Planetary nebulas and other smaller structures would have to remain in the realm of theory and simulation. That would be sad, but not a terrible compromise for being able to study the overall cosmos unobstructed. Besides, advanced space telescopes may also be able to help out with that.
I wonder if accurate enough clocks would ever be developed without a goodish collection of bright "fixed" stars?
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 2:58 am
by geckzilla
I was thinking early exploration might be hampered. Navigational techniques on land could work if there are enough tall structures or notable landmarks but travel over a vast ocean or something like a desert may be disorienting, at least until someone happens upon the compass, assuming a magnetic field is necessary for a planet to evolve complex life. There certainly are some disadvantages to consider along with any advantages.
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 3:57 pm
by bystander
I wonder if these are wavelengths that can be studied by the JWST.
edit: The NIR instruments on the JWST will operate in the 0.6 to 5.0 μm range.
This study by CIBER was in the 1.1 and 1.6 μm. What will JWST find?
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 9:12 pm
by saturno2
I think they are not stars,
it is a quasar swiching off
Re: JPL: CIBER Finds the Universe Brighter Than We Thought
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:51 pm
by BDanielMayfield
saturno2 wrote:I think they are not stars,
it is a quasar swiching off
But the simpler explainaton that this glow comes from cast-off stars makes sense. In gravitational interactions of three or more bodies the two more massive objects (two colliding galaxies, for example) tend to converge while the less massive (in this case, indivual stars) tend to be thrown out into higher orbits or even cast clear out of the system.
This is a neat finding. Rogue planets abound in interstellar space. Now we know that stars abound in intergalactic space as well.
