Posts Tagged ‘CfA-Arizona Space Telescope LEns Survey’

RXJ0911+0551

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

RXJ0911+0551 is another excellent example of a multiple quasar system described as a gravitational lens by astronomers and astrophysicists.  As with my previous two examples, the Einstein Cross and PG1115+80, this system consists of four high redshift quasars encircling a lower redshift central galaxy.  In SIMBAD the quasars are listed as a single object QSO B0908+0603 and the central galaxy is listed as [KCH2000] L2.    QSO B0908+0603 is listed as having a redshift of 2.7933 z which supposedly places it at a distance of 11.5 billion light years  using a so-called Hubble Constant value of 70 (km/s)/Mpc.   [KCH2000] L2 is listed as having a redshift of 0.7689 z which supposedly places it at a distance of 6.8 billion light years from Earth also using a so-called Hubble Constant value of 70 (km/s)/Mpc.  However, despite being allegedly separated by a distance of almost five billion light years, filaments of material can be seen connecting the central galaxy with the surrounding quasars in this system.

The above pair of images is from the CfA-Arizona Space Telescope LEns Survey (CASTLES) which utilized Hubble Space Telescope optical and near infrared images using NICMOS/NIC2 for H band observations and WFPC2/PC1 for V and I band images when none exist.  The image on the right has been “cleaned” using image filtering software based on hypothetical gravitational lens models.  Yet the image still clearly shows faint streamers of material between the central galaxy and encircling quasars, but they are not mirrored as would be expected in a gravitational lens.   The near-infrared image on the right is from the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) using the High Resolution Adaptive Camera (HIRAC) and from the ESO 3.5 m New Technology Telescope (NTT) using the “Son of ISAAC” (SOFI) near-infrared camera.  It shows a jet of material on both sides of the central galaxy with one jet connecting it with the lower left quasar in the system.  But again nothing is mirrored as would be expected in a true gravitational lens.

Astronomers have observed the x-ray fluctuations of the four quasars in RXJ0911+0551 in the hopes that a shared flare up between them would prove that they are merely mirages of the same background quasar.   A sudden increase in x-ray intensity was detected using the Chandra X-ray Observatory.  But the flare up, which lasted for more than half an hour, only occurred for one of the four quasars.  Astronomers measured x-ray intensities of the four quasars for over eight hours but the flare up never repeated in any of the other three.  The image below on the left is taken from the Chandra Press Room and shows the light curves of two of the quasars with the flare up clearly visible in one and not the other.  Astronomers refused to give up and claimed that the flare ups of the other quasars must have occurred before their observations were made.  The astronomers also claimed that a long term observation of this system will reveal shared flare ups among the quasar “mirages” providing precise extragalactic measurements and thereby allowing the expansion rate of the universe to be better estimated.  The original observations were made back in 2000 and despite all of these claims there have still yet to be any long term observations made of RXJ0911+0551.

Time and again scientists have tried to prove that this quadruple quasar system is a gravitational lens and time and again they have failed.  It is interesting that multiple quasar systems contain a limited number of quasars encircling a central galaxy in a limited number of positions.  What can account for this and for the bridges of material between these objects?  As I speculated in my previous examples, perhaps this is due to the quasars being ejected from the central galaxy in a symmetrical tetrahedral pattern.  An excellent way to visualize such a pattern is to look at a Jmol model of a methane molecule.  I am not suggesting that methane plays any role in multiple quasar systems.   But the four hydrogen atoms surrounding the carbon atom in a methane molecule can be rotated to very closely match the positions of the quasars in multiple quasar systems, including RXJ0911+0551 as shown in the image below on the right.

The reason that quasars ejected from a central galaxy could be positioned in such a way is simplicity.  A tetrahedron has the least number of faces and angles of any geometric solid.   The least number of objects, other than a pair, that can be evenly spaced with matching angles around another centralized object is four, but only if they are positioned at the vertices of an imaginary orthographically projected tetrahedron.

There are many more examples of tetrahedral symmetry displayed in compact multiple quasar systems, several of which I would like to post.  But tell me readers, do you think this is a viable explanation for what has been reported as gravitational lensing in many systems?  Or are there other alternatives that can better explain the number and positioning of quasars in these multiple quasar systems?  Let me know and thanks for reading!

Shannon

PG1115+80

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

The Einstein Cross is an excellent example of a probable quadruple quasar system described as a distant gravitational lens by current mainstream scientists.  In fact, there are many good examples of multiple quasars that surround and even appear to be ejected from dimmer, lower redshift central galaxies.  But unfortunately these objects too have been explained away as gravitational lenses, despite their lack of correlation with any known optical physics.

Take for instance PG1115+080 near the constellation Leo.  This object also consists of four quasars surrounding a dimmer, lower redshift core.  This central host galaxy displays a redshift of 0.31 z which supposedly places it over 2.9 billion light years away using a so-called Hubble Constant value of 85 (km/s)/Mpc.  The four quasars display identical redshifts of 1.7355 z each which supposedly place them at a much greater distance of almost 8.3 billion light years also using a so-called Hubble Constant value of 85 (km/s)/Mpc.

PG1115+80

Interestingly enough, most images of PG1115+080 show a tenuous connection between the central galaxy and one or more of the surrounding quasars, despite their accepted separation of over 5 billion light years.  In the above images from the 8.2 meter Subaru Telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii filaments of various thicknesses are shown connecting the central galaxy with all four of the surrounding quasars!  PG1115+80 cleanedPG1115+80 optical and near infraredThe following image on the left is from the CfA-Arizona Space Telescope LEns Survey (CASTLES).  CASTLES utilized Hubble Space Telescope optical and near infrared images using NICMOS/NIC2 for H band observations and WFPC2/PC1 for V and I band images when otherwise unavailable.  The image also shows all four quasars connected to the central galaxy via tenuous bridges of material.  Even after the image is “cleaned” using image filtering software based on hypothetical gravitational lens models the two paired quasars at the lower left of the image on the right still display strong connections while very faint filaments are still visible between the other two quasars.

PG1115+80 infraredDespite this evidence there are still scientists who try to manipulate the data.  The pair of infrared images on the left is taken from the Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS.  The left image is the original while the right image has supposedly had the quasars and central galaxy digitally subtracted from it to reveal a lensed galaxy in the background.  There are a few problems with this processed image however.  Besides the dubious method of subtraction used to create the image, the resulting ring of light is incomplete and irregularly shaped and does not conform to any accepted PG1115+80 x-rayoptical physics or gravitational lens models.  The image to the right is a 7+ hour exposure of PG1115+080 made by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.  If the light from a background quasar and its host galaxy is supposedly being lensed and is showing as a ring in infrared and possibly visible wavelengths why is there no trace of the hosting galaxy when it is viewed in the x-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum?  The most likely explanation is that there is no real ring nor any gravitational lensing occurring at all other than what scientists so desperately wish to see rather than face the stunning reality of their observations.

If the four quasars encircling the central galaxy in PG1115+80 are not the result of gravitational lensing then what can account for their number and positioning?    Why are quasars typically only located in a limited number of positions around the central galaxy in other compact quadruple quasar systems?  One very interesting theory is that these quasars have been ejected from the central galaxy in a symmetrical tetrahedral pattern.  The various filaments and connections observed between the quasars and the central galaxy in PG1115+80, the Einstein Cross and other quadruple quasar systems appears to confirm the ejection part of the theory.  But I must admit I have always had trouble visualizing a tetrahedron configuration for the quasars in these compact systems.  That was until one of my readers posted a comment under the Einstein Cross example.  He suggested the humble methane molecule as a visual aid for tetrahedral symmetry.  Of course it is not being suggested that methane plays any role in quadruple quasar systems.  But the four hydrogen atoms that surround the central carbon atom in methane are positioned at the vertices of an imaginary tetrahedron orthographically projected from the central carbon atom.  By rotating this tetrahedron the hydrogen atoms can be positioned so that they align themselves very closely with the majority of the quasar positions observed in compact quadruple quasar systems such as PG1115+80 and the Einstein Cross.

tetrahedral symmetryThe best way to view these alignments is to utilize a Java applet such as Jmol that allows viewing and manipulation of various molecules in orthographic perspective.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to search for “JMOL methane” in any search engine.  This query will return a variety of pages displaying the methane molecule in an embedded viewer.  By rotating the methane molecule displayed in one of these Java viewers I was able to line up the angles of the hydrogen atoms to almost precisely match the angles of the quasars surrounding the core of PG1115+80 in the above observations.  Any variance from the resulting image on the left is possibly due to the viewing angle and/or independent motion of the quasars since their ejections from the core.  I was also able to rotate the methane molecule to align its hydrogen atoms precisely with the positions of the quasars shown in the Einstein Cross.  Please be sure to visit this previously posted example to view the newly added resultant image.

So if the aforementioned objects are indeed formed by the ejection of quasars in a symmetrical tetrahedral pattern from a central galaxy why this particular pattern?  I proffer that the answer is simplicity.  A tetrahedron has the least number of faces and angles of any geometric solid.  Therefore, other than a pair, the least number of objects that can evenly encircle a central object with matching angles is four and only if they are positioned at the vertices of a tetrahedron.  There are many more examples of tetrahedral symmetry displayed in compact quadruple quasar systems.  I plan to post several more of these as time permits.  In the meantime continue to question the accepted theories, doubt the explanations given, and search for the truth about our universe and modern cosmology.  Thanks for reading!

Shannon