WHISPERS FROM OUR UNIVERSE - BLOG

A TITILLATING NEW NOVEL
by EDWARD LONGO

COSMOLOGY: Cosmology, the study of the universe, is the scientific study of the large-scale properties of the Universe as a whole. It endeavors to use the scientific method to understand the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the entire Universe. Like any field of science, cosmology involves the formation of theories or hypotheses about the universe, which make specific predictions for phenomena that can be tested with observations.

OUR UNIVERSE: In spite of the knowledge provided by scientists and environmentalists regarding global warming and the catastrophic events affecting our planet it is difficult to make sense of it all. In this poetic, prose-like, informative "Reader's-Digest" manner Longo offers an artistic and colorful presentation while attempting to maintain a logical understanding of how things work in the universe. This is especially true regarding events affecting the planetary system within our mother galaxy, The Milky Way. From Earth, without telescopic aid, the band of the Milky Way appears as a bright and hazy region of light encircling the sky. Many ancient cultures seem to have imagined it as a stream of various kinds. The Egyptians saw it as a river, perhaps the celestial embodiment of the River Nile. The Greeks imagined it as a stream of milk, and from that conception comes our modern term, "Milky Way".

WHISPER: Of particular importance is one of the experiments on Cluster that is used to study plasma called WHISPER. This is the French-led instrument that measures electron density as the spinning spacecraft sweep around the planet. The faint radio signal that fills our universe is the echo of the beginning of the universe. This signal, called the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, was first detected by accident in 1964 but has since been measured in detail by a number of experiments. These measurements provide a rich information set that enables us to determine how the universe began, how galaxies formed and what the eventual fate of the universe might be.

THE BIG BANG THEORY: The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is the light left over from the Big Bang, shifted to microwave wavelengths due to the expansion of the universe. The whole universe is bathed in this afterglow light. This is the oldest light in the universe and has been traveling across the Universe for about 13.7 billion years. The light patterns across the sky encode a wealth of details about the history, shape, content, and ultimate fate of the Universe. (Resource: NASA and the WMAP Science Team.)

WHAT'S INSIDE THIS TITILLATING NOVEL:

During the creation of his twelve vibrant paintings the artist began referring to them as inspirational images, and eventually as, Divine Interventions of The Gods. In producing one painting a day for 12 consecutive days, Edward Longo as artist not only began feeling empowered, he became so highly motivated he decided to stay focused on the images until bringing his artistic prose to a new level. It was actually his series of paintings that became influential in bringing into fruition this titillating new novel.

A “Reader’s Digest” Gathering of Scientific Terms and Astronomical Explanations Regarding the Evolutions and the Origins of Our Universe

In spite of the explanations provided by scientists, environmentalists, physicists and engineers regarding global warming, and the astrophysical developments affecting our universe it is difficult to make sense of it all. In this poetic, prose-like, reader’s-digest manner, Longo offers an artistic and colorful presentation while attempting to provide a logical understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe. This is especially true regarding whispers of The Big Bang, and other events affecting the planetary system within our mother galaxy, The Milky Way.

One of the experiments on various Cluster spacecrafts is that it is used to study plasma called WHISPER. This French-led instrument measures electron density as the spinning spacecraft sweeps around the planet. (More about this below.)

*Resource (1) – European Space Agency Science and Technology, News Archives: Query the archive: Use the query options below to search for specific news items.

*Resource (2) – Nine Planets reviewed: An Overview of the solar System: Orbits: The solar system consists of the Sun; the eight official planets, at least three "dwarf planets," more than 130 satellites of the planets, a large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary medium. (There are probably also many more planetary satellites that have not yet been discovered.) Milky Way in the Sky: From Earth, without telescopic aid, the band of the Milky Way appears as a bright and hazy region of light encircling the sky. Many ancient cultures seem to have imagined it as a stream of various kinds. The Egyptians saw it as a river, perhaps the celestial embodiment of the River Nile. The Greeks imagined it as a stream of milk, and from that conception comes our modern term, 'Milky Way'. The Greek word for milk is galaktos, incidentally, and this is the ultimate source for our word 'galaxy.'

*Resource (3) – Milky Way, The Galaxy: A bright band that encircles the entire night sky. The Milky Way is, in fact, the main body of our own spiral galaxy, viewed from within: binoculars or a telescope will resolve individual stars in the bright mass. Whispers of The Big Bang: The faint radio signal that fills our universe is the echo of the beginning of the universe. This signal, called the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, was first detected by accident in 1964 but has since been measured in detail by a number of experiments. These measurements provide a rich information set that enables us to determine how the universe began, how galaxies formed and what the eventual fate of the universe might be. Big Bang Cosmology: The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe. It postulates that 12 to 14 billion years ago, the portion of the universe we can see today was only a few millimeters across. It has since expanded from this hot dense state into the vast and much cooler cosmos we currently inhabit. We can see remnants of this hot dense matter as the now very cold cosmic microwave background radiation, which still pervades the universe and is visible to microwave detectors as a uniform glow across the entire sky. The Cosmic Microwave Background: (CMB) radiation is the light left over from the Big Bang, shifted to microwave wavelengths due to the expansion of the universe. The whole universe is bathed in this afterglow light. This is the oldest light in the universe and has been traveling across the Universe for about 13.7 billion years. The light patterns across the sky encode a wealth of details about the history, shape, content, and ultimate fate of the Universe.

*Resource (4) – Our Universe, What is the Universe made of? One of the key questions that need be answered by astrophysicists is what is really out there? And of what is it all made? Without this understanding it is impossible to come to any firm conclusions about how the universe evolved. You, your computer, the air we breathe, and the distant stars are all made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are bound together into nuclei and atoms are nuclei surrounded by a full complement of electrons. Hydrogen is composed of one proton and one electron.

*Resource (5) – Big Bang Cosmology: The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe. It postulates that 12 to 14 billion years ago, the portion of the universe we can see today was only a few millimeters across. It has since expanded from this hot dense state into the vast and much cooler cosmos we currently inhabit. We can see remnants of this hot dense matter as the now very cold cosmic microwave background radiation, which still pervades the universe and is visible to microwave detectors as a uniform glow across the entire sky. The Big Bang Model rests on two theoretical pillars. Resource: NASA and the WMAP Science Team.

THE BIG BANG THEORY

*Resource (6) – Cosmology - The Study of the Universe: Cosmology is the scientific study of the large-scale properties of the Universe as a whole. It endeavors to use the scientific method to understand the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the entire universe. Like any field of science, cosmology involves the formation of theories or hypotheses about the universe, which make specific predictions for phenomena that can be tested with observations. Depending on the outcome of the observations, the theories will need to be abandoned, revised or extended to accommodate the data. The prevailing theory about the origin and evolution of our universe of the so-called Big Bang theory is discussed at length within the links placed below.

*Resource (7) – Genesis of Big Bang Cosmology: The idea for what we now call Big Bang Cosmology first came to light in the work of the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître, who based the idea on Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, combined with Alexander Friedman's demonstration that the universe cannot be static, and Edwin Hubble's demonstration that the universe appears to be expanding. Einstein did not initially agree with the idea of an expanding universe, and added a term now called the cosmological constant to his equations of general relativity, in order to force his theory to allow for a static universe. However, once Hubble made known his evidence for an expanding universe, Einstein recanted the cosmological constant, and accepted the expanding universe. Today, Georges Lemaître is generally recognized as the "father" of the expanding universe cosmology.

Einstein (source unknown)

*Resource (8) – Listening For WHISPERS of Dark Matter: The underground experiment Jodi Colley works on, a collaboration of 60 physicists and engineers, is the world's most sensitive search for a type of particle that, as of yet, has only been theorized. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) uses detectors chilled nearly to the lowest possible temperature, minus 273 degrees Celsius, to "listen" for vibrations caused by these particles streaming in from space. The discovery of these particles would revolutionize our view of the cosmos.

*Resource (10) - Cluster's WHISPERS: The world around us is made mainly of solids, liquids and gases, explained Cluster project scientist Philippe Escoubet. Plasma is none of these – it is really a fourth state of matter. It behaves very much like a gas, but it can conduct electricity and it can be affected by magnetic fields. We find plasma in the Sun and stars–in fact, all over the Universe–so it is very important to find out as much as we can about it.