![]() ![]() The ZOA was “avoided” by astronomers because of the difficulties in analyzing the obscured galaxies known there (Kraan-Korteweg, 2000). Not to be confused with the Phantom Zone, the prison dimension to where the people of Krypton sent their prisoners. ![]() This unobservable space is called the Zone of Avoidance (ZOA a very neat name by the way), or “Zone of few Nebulae” as initially proposed by Proctor in 1878 (Kraan-Korteweg, 2000). The plane of the Milky Way outshines (due to its stars) and obscures (due to the dust) many of the objects behind it (NASA, 2013). The observation of the Great Attractor is difficult when restricted to the length of optical waves, due to the presence of the Milky Way. I included this strip, though, because it is funny. Note that the (rather controversial) Dark Flow phenomenon is not the same as the Great Attractor. “Dark Flow” (XKCD, 2008 available from ). 1 is not one of them, but it could be).įigure 1. ![]() A nice video explaining it was made by the SciShow Space (It is also a quite funny name with the potential for several jokes (Fig. It is indirectly “observable” by its effect on the motion of galaxies, and its presence, mass and position were estimated based on the peculiar velocity of the Local Group, the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way (Kocevski & Ebeling, 2006). The Great Attractor is a gravitational anomaly, a massive (and controversial) one. Since space is such a humongous place, one can expect it is full of mysteries. Man, in his ceaseless curiosity and desire for knowledge (and also the need to understand the universe around him to avoid the discomfort of death by starvation or cold), developed the science known today as Astronomy, as an attempt to unveil the mysteries of the universe. (The question remains, though: for it to be a frontier, isn’t it supposed to have something on both sides?) The vastness of space is both mysterious and fascinating. So huge that it received the title of “final frontier” by a famous television series, since you are not really supposed to traverse it. Huge may be a more appropriate adjective. Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |