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Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 80: Mar-Apr 1992 |
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More evidence for galactic "shells" or "something else"
Measurements of periodic red-shift bunching appeared in the literature at least as far back as 1977 in the work of W.G. Tifft. The implications of this phenomenon are apparently too terrible to contemplate, for astrophysicists have not taken up the challenge. They may be forced to take the phenomenon more seriously, because two new reports of redshift bunching have surfaced.
First, B. Guthrie and W, Napier, at Edinburgh's Royal Observatory, have checked Tifft's "bunching" claim using accurately known red shifts of some nearby galaxies. They found a periodicity of 37.5 kilometers/second -- no matter in which direction the galaxies lay.
(Gribbin, John; "'Bunched' Red Shifts Question Cosmology," New Scientist, p. 10, December 21/28, 1991.) The work of Guthrie and Napier is elaborated upon in the next item.
Sec ond, B. Koo and R. Krone, at the University of Chicago, using optical red-shift measurements, discovered that, in one direction at least, "the clusters of galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars, seemed to be concentrated in evenly spaced layers."
(Browne, Malcolm W.; "In Chile, GalaxyWatching Robot Seeks Measure of Universe," New York Times, December 17, 1991. Cr. P. Gunkel.)
Comment. Explanations for the unexpected bunching vary and are highly controversial:
- There are systematic defects in the radiotelescopes and/or the observational techniques. But, as just reported by Koo and Krone, the phenomenon is also seen with optical instruments.
- The red shifts are not entirely due to the Doppler Effect and the recessional velocities of galaxies. If this is so, the dimensions and age of the universe would have to be revised.
- The red-shift bunching occurs because some galaxies are arranged in shells surrounding the earth. To some, this would be philosophically disastrous, because it would place humanity in a favored spot in the cosmos.