back to article Herschel 'scope peers into 'truly empty' space hole

The Herschel Space Observatory has spotted a gaping hole in space - a "truly empty" void which appears to have be formed by jets of gas from nascent stars. The European Space Agency's infrared 'scope spotted the anomaly in a bright reflective cloud of gas dubbed NGC 1999. In visible wavelengths, the hole appears naturally …

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  1. conhoolio

    Smell The Glove

    It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The thing about space...

      is that it's black. And the thing about black holes, their main defining characteristic, is that their black...

      So how're you supposed to see them

    2. PhonicUK

      42

      Like a black button with black text on a black background that lets you know you've done something?

  2. Elmer Phud
    Alien

    I blame the LHC

    The LHC has created a fault in space-time which, due to everything being quantum, meant the hole appeared elsewhere.

    Now, in true Star Trek stylee, the hole will slowly begin to get bigger until it fills the entire screen with ----- nothing and this universe will be sucked in.

    Or is it the 'Eye of God' and god is a one-eyed cat?

    I (eye) for one welcome our new bum-licking overlords as long as they don't bring frogs in.

    1. moonface
      Troll

      Photofit

      After the Eye of God from Hubble, Herschel gives us the Nostril of God.

      How ironic, if science gives us the full picture!

  3. D L Clements
    Thumb Up

    See more on Herschel

    There's lots more on Herschel at the mission blog:

    herschelmission.wordpress.com

    and at the UK Herschel website

    herschel.cf.ac.uk

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    It enters the warp - obviously

    Have we found the "Eye of terror?"

    For all your warhammer 40K fans.

  5. Rocket
    Paris Hilton

    It's evil

    Pure and simple and black and it will absorb everything until Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich can fall in love to stop it

  6. pctechxp

    Appropriate piece of music

    Of course has to be Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    It's all so obvious

    Someone roundhouse-kicked a hole through the cloud!

    1. CD001

      It was...

      Chuck Norris

    2. fatchap
      Joke

      Roundhouse-kick

      Chuck Norris naturally.

  8. GotenXiao

    Disaster Area

    "It's so black! You can hardly see it. Light just falls into it."

    "It's so black. Everything in it is just totally black!"

    "The weird colour scheme freaks me. Every time I try to operate one of these weird black controls, a small black light lights up in black to let you know you've done it."

    Once again, Douglas Adams did it first :P

  9. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

    Typical behaviour for adolescents then?

    destructive through and through! stars, kids, they are all the same

  10. Number6

    26th June

    We'll doubtless find out more on 26th June when Dr Who finally solves the problem of the cracks in space-time.

  11. Rogerborg

    An enormous gaping void?

    I'll take "Gordon Brown's future career" for 10 points.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Strange

    It looks simply like a gap in the dust cloud to me...

    I can clearly see a background star through the gap, perhaps nothing shows up on infra-red because there's nothing there?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    its the BBC

    Its actually the crack from Doctor WHo.

  14. Graham Marsden
    Coat

    Are you sure it's not...

    ... the giant Space Amoeba from TOS Trek's episode "The Immunity Syndrome"?

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Wrong,

    It's clearly the home of "Nagilum" from TNG episode "Where Silence Has Lease". Shesh...

  16. Adrian Esdaile
    Boffin

    entirely empty or immensely dense

    Funny how they've gone for the 'empty' hypothesis.

    I prefer the 'immensely dense' hypothesis, thus:

    1. It's an alien battlefleet coming to get us (about time)

    2. It's a Dyson sphere (about time)

    3. It's a Type III civilization's Matroishka Brain booting up (about time)

    4. There really is a God, and this is one of His poos.

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