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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Tue Jul 2, 2013, 09:36 AM Jul 2013

Astronomers Identify 514 of the Most Powerful Objects in the Universe

By Ian Chant

A new map of the universe created with data from the Fermi Space Telescope has identified the 514 most highly energetic objects in the known universe. The slightly unnerving part of that news — researchers have exactly no idea what 65 of those objects, which are throwing off more than 10 gigaelectronvolts of gamma ray energy, are. These sources could be standard high energy objects — like blazars — that simply haven’t been properly identified yet, or they could be an entirely new class of object never before seen on the cosmic landscape.

One explanation for the unidentified energy sources — which throw off huge amounts of gamma rays, but are not associated with radio or optical emissions, could be dwarf galaxies composed of dark matter. If that’s the case, learning more about these mystery objects could help us understand dark matter more thoroughly. Of course, the objects could also just be standard high energy objects that have yet to be properly identified. Also, they could be Galactuses, in which case we should probably just leave them alone, because staring at them too closely is a good way to get our whole planet eaten.

more
http://www.geekosystem.com/65-mystery-energy-sources/

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