MULTIVERSE DISCOVERY - First solid proof of other universes besides ours

Cosmologists think they have evidence that could help prove that our universe is just one of many others. So far, the "multiverse theory" has been a controversial notion without hard evidence to support it. That may now change.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Cosmologists studying the highly detailed data from the Planck Telescope, a space telescope designed to measure the universe's cosmic microwave background radiation, say they have evidence that our universe is one of many others in existence.

The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) is known as the "afterglow" of the big bang. It fills the background of the universe almost uniformly, but highly sensitive instruments, such as the Planck Telescope, can detect minute variations in this apparent uniformity.

What the Planck spacecraft has revealed is that the CMBR is far from uniform. In fact, the radiation shows up stronger in the southern half of the map versus the northern half. There is also a large "cold spot" in the southern sky, which modern physics can't explain.

Until now, perhaps.

Laura Mersini-Houghton, theoretical physicist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Richard Holman, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, both theorized in 2005 these anomalies could be caused by the pull of other universes outside our own.

However, these notions were mostly speculation until recently when new data from the Planck Telescope provided a much more detailed map of the radiation.

Now the pair believes the data provides the first solid proof of multiverse theory.

To date, their hypothesis is the only one that can explain the stronger radiation in the south and the cold spot in that hemisphere.

Multiverse theory, if true, could explain a number of things including what caused the big bang that created the universe, what existed before the big bang, and why it is the universe appears precisely tuned to host human life, at least on planet Earth.

Indeed, prominent atheists such as Stephen Hawking have proposed the multiverse theory as an alternative explanation for the story of Biblical creation and why things are the way they are. However, their use of the theory does not mean that creation occurred in any particular way or that there can't be other universes besides ours.

It is entirely plausible to accept the big bang theory and multiverse theory while maintaining a steadfast belief in God. God could have used any means He wished to create. Indeed, a Jesuit priest, Monsignor Georges Lemaitre, developed the big bang theory based on his work as a mathematician.

The analysis of the Planck Telescope map is certainly interesting, but a great deal further research will be required before we can discern if other universes exist and have somehow exerted a detectible influence on ours. The conclusions are already controversial in the scientific community and scientists will debate them for a long time to come.

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