Half of the universe's hydrogen gas, long unaccounted for, has been found (phys.org)
from cm0002@lemmy.world to astronomy@mander.xyz on 14 Apr 18:00
https://lemmy.world/post/28222319

#astronomy

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luckystarr@feddit.org on 14 Apr 18:20 next collapse

If I understood this correctly, they analyzed incredibly blurry images and concluded that there are clouds of gas around galaxies, then they extrapolated the found gas up to all or almost all galaxies and concluded that it can fulfill the calculated expectations.

BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one on 14 Apr 19:36 next collapse

Thank you. Saved me a click?

OfCourseNot@fedia.io on 14 Apr 19:57 collapse

What I understood is kind of the opposite–they already knew there were hidrogene clouds around galaxies but analyzed some almost imperceptibly blurry images and found they were bigger than currently thought. They're blurry because they were taken in some wavelength not observable until now that is scattered by the ionized gas.

pwnicholson@lemmy.world on 14 Apr 18:37 next collapse

It’s always in the last place you look.

spankmonkey@lemmy.world on 14 Apr 18:50 collapse

Because you stop looking…

pwnicholson@lemmy.world on 14 Apr 19:25 collapse

Yes, that’s the joke.

Eldritch@lemmy.world on 14 Apr 20:18 collapse

No matter where you go, there you are.

Enkers@sh.itjust.works on 14 Apr 20:26 collapse

Because I’m in the last place I look?

sepi@piefed.social on 15 Apr 10:04 collapse

You look like you're in the last place we looked

5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 14 Apr 19:44 next collapse

Astronomical bookkeeping 🥴

Hydrogen alienation is a crime.

thefartographer@lemm.ee on 14 Apr 20:07 next collapse

Was it in the couch cushions? That’s where I often find things.

Scubus@sh.itjust.works on 15 Apr 00:50 collapse

Surprised jd vance face

Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works on 14 Apr 20:43 collapse

Astronomers have generally thought that massive black holes at the centers of galaxies expel gas in jets of material only during their formative years, when the central black hole is gobbling up gas and stars and producing lots of radiation. This makes them stand out as what astronomers call active galactic nuclei (AGN), or quasars.

If, as the new study suggests, the ionized hydrogen halo around galaxies is more diffuse, but also more extensive, than thought, this implies that the central black holes may actually become active at other times in their lives.

I love how we keep finding more and more about the role that black holes play in our universe.