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Isotropy of the universe is the idea that the universe is the same in all directions, and is a founding principle of the laws of physics. However, that principle has been called into question by observations of galaxy cluster temperatures and luminosities.
https://scitechdaily.com/fundamental-principle-of-cosmology-cast-in-doubt-by-compelling-new-study/
"No matter where we look, the same rules apply everywhere in space: countless calculations of astrophysics are based on this basic principle. A recent study by the Universities of Bonn and Harvard, however, has thrown this principle into question. Should the measured values be confirmed, this would toss many assumptions about the properties of the universe overboard. The results are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, but are already available online."
The paper (open access):
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2020/04/aa36602-19/aa36602-19.html
Journal Reference (open access):
K. Migkas, G. Schellenberger, T. H. Reiprich, F. Pacaud, M. E. Ramos-Ceja and L. Lovisari. Probing cosmic isotropy with a new X-ray galaxy cluster sample through the L X – T scaling relation , 8 April 2020, Astronomy & Astrophysics.
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201936602
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2020, @10:28AM
Most of cosmology is like this. Cosmology is not something that can ever be tested in a lab. The only possible experiment is the universe itself. It's not really like a social science, but maybe it's kind of like archaeology. Nobody is ever going to make a new Ancient Egypt in a lab, but that doesn't mean there's no value in studying their history, and it certainly doesn't mean they never existed. Similarly, something created the odd universe that we currently see. A universe without inflation doesn't look like what we see. Maybe the observations are wrong, maybe the physics is wrong, but something has to be the truth. Science is the search for that truth, not the answer to it.
There is a certain overlap between cosmology, physics, and mathematics where mathematical developments can give the theoretical physicists new tools, that they can use to come up with ideas that the astronomers or experimental physicists can then check. Most of the time it does not work like this. Instead, strange observations come in, theorists figure out a plausible explanation, and then someone devises a test. There is always a delay, sometimes months, sometimes decades, between when the theory is formulated and when it can be thorougly tested. The most important statement in all of science is not "Eureka!" but rather "Huh, that's odd."
Important discoveries do come from odd cosmological observations. The "Solar Neutrino Problem" and "Ultraviolet Catastrophe" are two problems of astronomy/cosmology that were once unsolved but gave rise to important developments in physics and have now been tested in many ways. All the branches of science work together, and the fact that science does not always have all the answers does not invalidate the results it produces.