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    NASA supercomputer finds billions of comets mimicking the Milky Way's shape: 'The universe seems to like spirals!'
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    NASA supercomputer finds billions of comets mimicking the Milky Way’s shape: ‘The universe seems to like spirals!’


    NASA supercomputer finds billions of comets mimicking the Milky Way’s shape: ‘The universe seems to like spirals!’

    https://www.space.com/the-universe/solar-system/nasa-supercomputer-finds-billions-of-comets-mimicking-the-milky-ways-shape-the-universe-seems-to-like-spirals

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    21 Comments

    1. Taste_the__Rainbow on

      Anyone who has played with any kind of gravity simulation can quickly see how these things keep happening.

    2. hunteddwumpus on

      The spirals in galaxies are thought to be tied to what amounts to density/pressure “waves” of material with gravity as the medium right? Seems to make sense that in the gravitational environment of the outer Oort cloud a similar situation could arise, with the inner solar system being the facsimile of the galactic nucleus and the billions of comets being the facsimile to stars in the galaxy.

      This article doesnt go into what the scientists think is the root cause of the structure, but Id be curious if its the same general idea just on a much different scale.

    3. topsykerretts on

      Spirals just make sense when you consider how gravity is often observed. I look at space as a collection of watering holes. The spiral arms, like the herds flocking to them, build up over time. Stuff attracts stuff.

    4. noble-man-of-power on

      Ancient Egyptians knew this and called the spiral motion the first movement in the universe.

    6. TacticalSunroof69 on

      That’s such a dumb way of putting it.

      I wouldn’t compare it to a plug whole to explain why it is dumb because that is dumb as well.

      Look at water going down a lake drain and it does not spiral.

      There must be an EMF and the polarities of those fields make a spiral as they go against eachother.

      Perhaps intergalatic birkeland currents.

      Donald Scott’s work describes what I am talking about perfectly.

      Or more accurately it is his work that I am taking this idea from.

    13. beavis617 on

      Kids love that game Spirograph so if it’s true as many believe the universe is really a hologram or computer simulation that an aliens kid is running then this makes sense…🙄

    18. Andromeda321 on

      Astronomer here! This is in reference to the [Oort Cloud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud), where comets come from and almost a light year from the sun (give or take). It’s been thought to be spherical for a long time but mainly because it’s just where the orbits of comets come- you really need quite a bit of supercomputing to get a better idea of it.