The Tail of a Galaxy

[MGmirkin]

(The Tail of a Galaxy; Apr 04, 2008)

Glowing hydrogen ions and x-ray light illuminate this image of a galaxy more than 200 million light-years from Earth. The helical tail and point-source symmetry seem to indicate a plasma instability of truly astronomical proportions.

[Read more] ...

[MGmirkin]

I wondered how long it would take them to discover one of these (a galaxy acting like a comet)...

So, now it seems EVERYthing acts like a comet!

(Newborn stars discovered in dramatic galaxy tail; IE, galaxy appears to have a comet-like tail?)
http://newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/3186/content.htm
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/a3627/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20891704/
http://www.physorg.com/news109513368.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 122144.htm
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/10003481.html

(A Star with a Comet's Tail; Mira is discovered to have a massive tail much like a comet?)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/20070815/
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/15aug_mira.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex ... 70815.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/20070815/v.html
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=5899
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... -tail.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/scien ... 6star.html
http://www.physorg.com/news106404409.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070817.html

(Mercury's tail is many many times longer than expected. )
http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/ ... hp?id=1511
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/2 ... -tail.html
http://www.physorg.com/news123340373.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Bosto ... l_999.html

(Venus' tail's "stringy things" appear "cometary"...)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15420842.900

(Enceladus' Cometary Plumes)
http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=xcafwdgn

(Cassini Tastes Organic Material At Saturn's Geyser Moon; Enceladus' plume(s) taste a lot like a "comet")
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 151729.htm

(Enceladus, comets and electric moons)
http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=h103sydx

So, it seems that both Mercury and Enceldus have features not unlike comets, for various reasons. Venus too! In fact, we know that ancient cultures referred to Venus in the same terms they referred to comets. But, a planet-sized comet, how could that be? *gasp!*

(Comets show evidence of fire & ice)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stard ... 60313.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4801968.stm
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... pdate.html

(Surprise! That Comet Is an Asteroid, Sort Of; Not only are asteroid materials rocky, but they're also devoid of the markers scientists expected top be present from "pre-solar materials" according to the now-defunct [yet still hanging around] "dirty snowball" model.)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008 ... hat-c.html

So, it seems that comets and asteroids aren't all the different. They can't seem to produce evidence of the "pre-solar materials" required of the Whipple / dirty snowball model (which had been more or less defunct in favor of the icy dirtball model for some time), and they keep finding rocky materials and stuff "born in fire". Hardly the "cold stuff" conglomerated from the outer reaches that everyone in the mainstream (Standard Model / Big Bang) camps had expected.

And then there's the Centaurs, which may at some point be key to unlocking the mystery of "comets vs. asteroids."

(Info in Centaurs)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaur_%28planetoid%29
http://www.daviddarling.info/encycloped ... ntaur.html
http://www.arm.ac.uk/press/centaurs.html
http://www.daviddarling.info/encycloped ... ntaur.html

It seems that several Centaurs have been identified as both asteroids AND comets. At least 3 (maybe more we haven't yet picked out) also sport weak comas not unlike comets!

Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum)... Well, okay, not literally a "proof." Just a lot of rather interesting coincidences (For any nit-pickers out there)...

So, I guess one might be tempted to ask what DOESN'T act like a comet these days?? Are comets the "5th element?" *Still only kidding*

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin

[MGmirkin]

('Comet Galaxy' Ripped Apart by Galaxy Cluster)
http://www.keckobservatory.org/article.php?id=105

A very weird find by any standard... Any thoughts?

~Michael Gmirkin

[Osmosis]

Well, Keck still sees dark matter in their telescope.

[MGmirkin]

Well, Keck still sees dark matter in their telescope.

Are they sure it's "dark matter" and not just some misplaced "grey matter?"
Maybe they just need to wipe the lens with a terry cloth? Or better yet, give it a brush-less electrostatic cleaning. Worked for the rovers... So, maybe?



*Kidding!*

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin