The top 5 astronomical discoveries of all time

[Graeme]

The top 5 astronomical discoveries of all time (so far)

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03 ... -all-time/

Paul Sutter is an astrophysicist and science communicator. I'm a big fan of his podcasts.


Graeme

[HansV]

Great reading, thanks!

[HansV]

But astronomy is in trouble now: James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe

[ChrisGreaves]

[BobH]

Help! Please! Someone save me and extract me from this rabbit hole!

[Graeme]

But astronomy is in trouble now: James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe

The Hubble Tension is hugely exciting! And just goes to show that the more we know, the more we discover what we don't know! And I love how scientists get excited when "facts" are shown to be wrong and discover that there is more to learn!

Here's another recent theory that has the potential to prove everything wrong: https://www.space.com/what-is-emergent- ... ign=MANUAL

Graeme

[ChrisGreaves]

... the more we know, the more we discover what we don't know!

Graeme, It must be so, if knowledge is thought of as an expanding sphere (but only because we are three-dimensional animals), then the surface of that sphere (a.k.a. Number of fields of studies, Number of post-graduate degree papers, etc) must increase by a square law.

I suspect that lies behind the adult intuitive remark to high school students: Once you leave high school you'll really start to learn.

From that I infer that high school and university are there just to teach us how to use the tools, the saw, hammer, chisel and plane, and it is not until we get our first carpentry job that we start really learning.

The Verlinde ideas seem to lie along a path of understanding ever-smaller particles, and we could think of that as a dimension. Early philosophers saw the sky as a bowl. Then individual objects such as planets, then molecules, atoms, down thorough strings, with each step representing a larger area of the "sphere" in that direction/dimension.

Cheers, Chris

[stuck]

Here's another recent theory that has the potential to prove everything wrong: https://www.space.com/what-is-emergent- ... ign=MANUAL...

Fascinating! If this Wikipedia page:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropic_gravity
about the theory is reliable, then the section under the heading 'Significance' has set me well on the way to being convinced this is not something to be dismissed lightly.

Ken

[HansV]

And then there is New theory claims to unite Einstein's gravity with quantum mechanics

[stuck]

So in summary, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is anybody's guess.

[ChrisGreaves]

So in summary, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is anybody's guess.

"Everything is toxic to Humans" is the essential message.
Why, even life itself leads to death, so life is toxic to humans.
Cheers, Chris

[Graeme]

The theory that combines general relativity and quantum mechanics, Theory of Everything, will be realised just after they sort out String Theory and Nuclear Fusion!

Graeme

[stuck]

...even life itself leads to death...

Yes, I think it was David Hockney that observed that all death certs should give the cause of death as birth.

Ken