Astronomers Discover Huge “Hole” in the Universe

A team of astronomers at the University of Minnesota have announced findings which indicate that a large “cold spot” in the cosmic microwave background exists. The cosmic microwave background is the remnant infrared energy from the “big bang” that is red-shifted to microwave radio frequencies due to the distance and speed at which it is travelling.

Using radio astronomy data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotopy Probe (WMAP) and Very Large Array, the astronomers deduce a “cold spot” a billion light years wide that is devoid of stars, galaxies, gas and the mysterious dark matter in the region of the sky around the constellation Eridanus. Other studies have found voids in the Universe, but this one dwarfs them by comparison.

“Not only has no one ever found a void this big, but we never even expected to find one this size,” said Lawrence Rudnick of the University of Minnesota. Rudnick, along with Shea Brown and Liliya R. Williams, also of the University of Minnesota, reported their findings in a paper accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.

Their paper is available here.

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