W is for . . .

Image Source: Lee Davy

What if?

What if there were more than one universe out there? It's not a silly question.

About 300,000 years after the Big Bang, atoms formed and light began to move, an event known as recombination. This lead to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) or a glow across the sky.

By studying this glow, cosmologist Ranga-Ram Chary (California Institute of Technology) thinks he may have found a "bruise" where a parallel universe bumped into ours.

Image Source: Jose Maria Cuellar

Picture universes as a bubbles. If two bump, one can deposit some of its matter into the other, leaving a mark. In this case, the mark is a signal 4500 times brighter than it should be based on the amount of matter one would expect to find in this region of the CMB. According to Chary, this signal is more consistent with a Universe whose ratio of matter particles to photons is about 65 times greater than our own.

But don't expect to meet another universe's version of humanity just yet. Even Chary is quick to admit there could be other explanations. The brighter light could be from a distant galaxy or from clouds of dust surrounding our galaxy.

(Information adapted from Universe Today, Cosmologist Thinks a Strange Signal May Be Evidence Of A Parallel Universe by Vanessa Janek, Nov. 16, 2015)

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In her short story, Haunted, Melanie Schulz examines a pair of universes in which the difference is the existence of one person. Talk about a page-turner! This one will have you racing to discover the secret behind the parallel universes. Check it out in Parallels, Felix Was Here available May 3 on Amazon.