New BICEP2 Results Are Published - Dust Rules

Hey Space Placers!

Sorry to be out of touch the last few days but I just returned from attending the funeral for a dear, dear, friend who lost his brutal nine month battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. The next heartbeat is a privilege and not a right so make sure you live each day to the fullest and do what you want to do - your time on this planet is not infinite……..

Planck View of BICEP2 Region
Date: 30 January 2015
Satellite: Planck
Copyright: ESA/Planck Collaboration. Acknowledgment: M.-A. Miville-Deschênes, CNRS - Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-XI, Orsay, France


You may remember last year's mega-announcement in March about the discovery of gravitational waves in the data acquired at the South Pole by BICEP2. At the time there was talk of Nobel Prize and this being a great discovery.

Well, not so fast.

The announcement was done before any formal paper was published and/or peer reviewed. Now that such a necessary process has been done it turns out that the all important signal could be caused by dust from our very own Milky Way Galaxy.

Read these illuminating articles  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2015/02/02/bicep2-discovery-gravitational-waves/#.VM-78Uv3XUl   and   http://sci.esa.int/planck/55362-planck-gravitational-waves-remain-elusive/.

 Sky Guy in VA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Humanity Is Becoming Part of the Geological Record

Hey Space Placers! According to geologists we are living in the Holocene epoch. But due to humanity's interaction with Earth's biophysical system there is the informal declaration that we are in the "Anthropocene" Era representing the latter half of the 18th Century to present day. Human activity is starting to be seen in the geologic record, from lead, methane and PLASTIC, yes plastic - deposits in the rock layers. Take a moment to read this enlightening article . You'll be glad you did. Sky Guy in VA
Read more

NORTHERN LIGHTS MAY BE VISIBLE TONIGHT

Image
 Hey Space Placers AND AURORA CHASERS! OCTOBER 10, 2024 AURORA OVER CENTRAL VIRGINIA TAKEN WITH SMARTPHONE Greg Redfern The Sun has unleashed a solar event that impacted Earth yesterday  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/cme-passage-continues-today-16-apr-2025  and has intensified even more today. Earth is experiencing a Level G3 Geomagnetic Storm https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/cme-passage-continues-today-16-apr-2025     today that will produce the Northern Lights (Aurora) tonight after it gets dark. It is recommended that Aurora chasers check the latest Aurora forecast at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center Aurora Forecast Webpage  https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental and get outside after dark equipped with their Smartphones and/or cameras. You will need a clear view of the northern horizon that is hopefully free of bright lights. Try looking with your eyes to see if Aur...
Read more

HERE COMES COMET A3 IN THE WESTERN SKY

Image
 Hey, Space Placers! Check out Comet A3!  The bright Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will first become visible in the evening sky on October 11th, appearing between Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, and Arcturus, the brightest star in Boötes. While opening night will have it competing against twilight, it will be both higher in the sky and more visible against darker skies on subsequent evenings. Download a higher-resolution version here. Sky & Telescope illustration All your details here. Good luck! Sky Guy Looking in VA
Read more