Cosmic Speed Shock: Is the Model of the Universe Obsolete?

How Do You Measure the Solar System speed?

Measuring speed in space is not simple, especially when dealing with objects as large as the entire Solar System. The biggest problem is the reference point—what exactly are we measuring the speed against?

Scientists from Bielefeld University decided to use radio galaxies as their reference. These objects emit very intense radio waves that telescopes on Earth can capture. The principle is simple: if our star system is speeding in one direction, there will be slightly more radio galaxies ahead of us than behind us. Detecting them and calculating the difference is a direct way to determine our Solar System speed.

Impressive Radio Galaxy Observations

German astronomers did just that, though it was not easy. The difference in the number of radio galaxies “ahead of us” and “behind us” is microscopic, and detecting all these objects required the work of the entire LOFAR radio telescope network, distributed across Europe. In addition, they needed data from two other observatories in Australia and the USA. Eventually, they succeeded, and the results of these observations were recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters. So, what is the ultimate Solar System speed?

They Studied the Solar System speed. The Conclusions Are Surprising

Millions of detected radio galaxies and complicated calculations led the researchers to a surprising conclusion. “Our analysis shows that the Solar System is moving more than three times faster than current models predict,” explains Dr. Lukas Böhme, the lead author of the study. Previous studies indicated a speed of approximately 370 km/s. Meanwhile, the real speed is over 1350 km/s—about 3.7 times greater.

Why is this so important? According to current assumptions, the Universe as a whole is uniform, even though stars and galaxies are locally distributed unevenly. Astronomers believe these irregularities should fall within certain limits. In the case of the radio galaxy distribution, they are 3.7 times greater than scientists previously assumed.

Is the Model of the Universe Outdated?

Dr. Böhme admits directly: “This result clearly contradicts expectations based on standard cosmology and forces us to rethink our earlier assumptions.” Such a seemingly small factor as the Solar System speed completely changes our conception of the entire structure of the Universe. The researchers currently have two hypotheses regarding this phenomenon.

The Uniformity of the Cosmos Is Questioned

According to the astronomers involved in the research, the Solar System may simply be moving exceptionally fast. The second option is the hypothesis that the distribution of radio galaxies is less uniform than science previously believed. Regardless of which option we consider, this discovery overturns the existing understanding of the Universe’s structure.

Result Outside the Statistical Error

The principle of cosmic uniformity is currently one of the most fundamental rules in astronomy. Why, then, do the latest measurements of the Solar System speed seem to contradict it? Scientists emphasize that it is too early to conclude a revolution. However, the measurement result is clear enough that a statistical anomaly cannot explain it.

Similar discrepancies between the uniformity principle and the actual state of affairs were observed previously when measuring high-energy galaxies called quasars. The reappearance of the phenomenon further rules out the possibility that the result could be due to error or chance. The Solar System is speeding through space faster than we thought. And discovering this fact may change astronomy forever.

Read this article in Polish: Rewolucja w astronomii. Mamy błędny model Wszechświata?