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Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 23: Sep-Oct 1982 |
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The Cosmic Whirl
From the analysis of position angles and polarizations of some radio stars, it seems that the entire cosmos is rotating with an angular velocity of about 10-13 radians per year. The Big Bang scenario allows for uniform, universal expansion but certainly no general rotation. P. Birch, the author of this article, puts his finger on the problem in his abstract:
"This would have drastic cosmological consequences, since it would violate Mach's principle and the widely held assumption of large-scale isotropy."
(Birch, P., "Is the Universe Rotating?" Nature, 298:45l, 1982.)
Comment. Since Birch's indicators of rotation are positive in one half of the sky and negative in the other, are we really seeing an entire universe rotating about the earth (and humankind) as a center? What an anti-Copernican thought; we are the focus of everything after all!
Reference. Other evidence for universal rotation may be found at ATB4 in our Catalog: Stars, Galaxies, Cosmos. This Catalog volume is described here.