You know, the one they are turning into a set of movies?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...993870.stm


Dark matter clues in oldest stars
By Liz Seward
Science reporter, York

A computer model of the early Universe indicates the first stars could have formed in spectacular, long filaments.

These structures, which may have been thousands of light-years across, would have been shaped by "dark matter".

Scientists know very little about this type of matter, even though it accounts for most of the mass in the cosmos.

The researchers told the British Association (BA) Festival of Science that their work could reveal the true nature of dark matter.

Liang Gao and Tom Theuns from Durham University, UK, also reported their findings in the journal Science.

Quick or slow

Astronomers believe that more than three-quarters of the matter in our Universe may be "dark". It does not reflect or emit detectable light, and so cannot be seen directly - but it does gravitationally pull on normal matter (the gas, stars, and planets we see in space).

It is this interaction that allows scientists to predict its existence - even if they cannot say what it is. Various types of exotic particle seem to be the favoured theory, with equally exotic names such as neutralinos, axions and gravitinos.

The new research, though, may give some clues as to dark matter's properties. Computer modelling suggests there is a link between the structures assumed by early stars and the temperature of the dark matter amongst them.

Tom Theuns, from Durham's Institute for Computational Cosmology, told the festival: "What we found for the first time is that the nature of the dark matter is crucial to the nature of the first stars.

"In cold dark matter the particles move very slowly; in warm dark matter they move very quickly," he explained.

"We found that if the dark matter consists of these fast moving particles, then the first stars form in very long, thin filaments.

"The filaments have a length about a quarter the size of the Milky Way and contain an amount of matter and gas about 10 million times the mass of the Sun, so that provides a lot of fuel for many stars."

Exotic collection

Some of the stars that formed within the filaments would have had a relatively low mass, which is of interest to astronomers as they have a long lifespan and could still survive today.

Dr Theuns added: "In stark contrast, what happens in (the simulation with) cold dark matter is very, very different.

"Here, the first stars formed in little lumps of dark matter, and just one star per dark matter lump. And these stars are probably very massive as well: 100 solar masses.

"Because these stars are so massive, they die very quickly; so you wouldn't find such stars in the Milky Way today," he said.

Scientists believe that the temperature of the dark matter indicates what kind of particles it is made of.

Observational pointers

The research team hopes answers could come from astronomers who are now scouring the skies to find signs of very old stars.

If dark matter is warm, then some of these very first stars may be in the Milky Way today.

However, detecting the massive stars formed in cold dark matter would require very powerful telescopes capable of "peering into the very distant Universe," Dr Theuns added.

"We don't know what the dark matter is, we don't know what the first stars are. If we bring these two problems together, when we know more about one, then we can say something about the other."
[Edited 9/14/07 22:48pm]

very interesting read

ive just started re reading amber spyglass- finished the 1st 2 last week!

cant wait 4 the movie- but i hope it gets promoted here properly- as the 1st book is called "northern lights" here, not golden compass

prb said:

If I remember correctly, they mashed up the story a little bit.

Ooh, ooh, searching for some info on why they changed the title, I found that there is a trailer! Not the 'making of' trailer of a few months back, but a REAL trailer!

http://www.imdb.com/video...me60480803

HamsterHuey said:

i saw the trailer when i went 2 watch hp5- at least i think it was that movie- cant remember seeing anything since

prb said:

http://www.darkmaterials.com/faq1.htm

HamsterHuey said:

ahhhh, so that why- northern lights is the uk title, so thats what we get in australia as well. thanks

the trailer is awesome- cant wait 4 the movie


but then again, we'll have 2 wait a while for the second one

and then the third- i wonder if they filmed them altogether like the did they lord of the rings
[Edited 9/14/07 23:13pm]

prb said:

Same here. Even though none of the characters LOOK like I imagined them, I think they at least got the soul of the characters right. I love, love, love Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter.

HamsterHuey said:

i know what u mean- nicole should be good as mrs coulter (lets hope- all seems good in the trailer).
characters never look how you imagine them- unless u see the movie 1st- then u imagine the actors as the characters- i prefer 2 read the books 1st- get my own impression

awww man- according 2 wikipedia- the 2nd and third movies will only go ahead if the 1st movie is financially successful

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...en_Compass
New Line Cinema has commissioned screenwriter Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in late 2009; with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass to follow. However, New Line president Toby Emmerich stresses that production of the second and third films is dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass.

prb said:

Silly, they should have pulled a LOTR; in 2009 the girl playing Lyra is too old!

HamsterHuey said:

exactly!! and thats the second movie- what about the third

it worked 4 LOTR, same movie company

prb said:

Oh wel, Lyra ages in the books too. It works for the Harry Potter series. So maybe also for this one.

HamsterHuey said:

yeah- but harry ages a year with each book- i cant remember- does lyra age that much- she didnt seem 2 age much between book 1 and 2 (except for travelling time of course)- it could work i suppose

she might have a younger sister they can use

prb said:

Hehehe, Lyra comes of age in the books. Remember how she becomes what she is? (saying it this way not to give away too much info to peeps still wanting to read the books or be surprised by the movies)

I haven't read the books, but I figure I'll go see the movie anyway.

will there be aliens in it?

ZombieKitten said:

Na, just witches, talking polar bears, a magical knife and compas, talking animal totems, one of them a wicked monkey, gypsies.

Oh wait a minute, in book three there are some biking aliens.

HamsterHuey said:

id 4 gotten that- i havent finished rereading the last book yet

i remembered something like that happens- in the middle of the night

havent got up 2 the biking aliens yet- but i remembered about them

those wheelie thingies

HamsterHuey said:

oooh!

ZombieKitten said:

books r great-do yourself a favour!

prb said:

I can't read

ZombieKitten said:

the movie looks pretty good then

ZombieKitten said:

Then get the audio books. I listen to loads of audio books on my iPod.