Telescope finds a void in the universe

The central darker region of the middle of this picture indicates something very strange is occuring…Following on from yesterday’s post about Hugh Everett and the ‘Many Worlds Interpretation’ of Quantum Physics, I came across this interesting article via Chris Mckitterick’s blog. NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe(WMAP) has been studying the microwave emissions of the universe back towards the big bang. The Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB, is more or less constant across the sky, a gradually cooling remnant of the beginning of our universe.

Earlier this year a vast region of space was detected where the CMB was a lower temperature. Further study showed that the area had very few stars or galaxies and was a much bigger empty space than predicted by any models. Some scientists think the hole is caused by a massive patch of dark energy. Others think that this region may be evidence of another universe, especially if a similar patch is found in the southern hemisphere of the sky.

[via Chris Mckitterick, image from Science Daily]