CMBR Dipole: Speeding Through the Universe

Consider the above image as the Milky Way's speeding ticket through the universe.

From NASA's March 9, 2008 Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD):

"Our Earth is not at rest. The Earth moves around the Sun. The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy orbits in the Local Group of Galaxies. The Local Group falls toward the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. But these speeds are less than the speed that all of these objects together move relative to the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). In the above all-sky map from the COBE satellite, radiation in the Earth's direction of motion appears blueshifted and hence hotter, while radiation on the opposite side of the sky is redshifted and colder. The map indicates that the Local Group moves at about 600 kilometers per second relative to this primordial radiation. This high speed was initially unexpected and its magnitude is still unexplained. Why are we moving so fast? What is out there?"

Some may ask, wouldn't that imply that there's an absolute frame of reference, in contradiction with the theory of special relativity? From an article from Astronomy at University of British Columbia:

"The theory of special relativity is based on the principle that there are no preferred reference frames. In other words, the whole of Einstein's theory rests on the assumption that physics works the same irrespective of what speed and direction you have. So the fact that there is a frame of reference in which there is no motion through the CMB [or CBMR] would appear to violate special relativity!

"However, the crucial assumption of Einstein's theory is not that there are no special frames, but that there are no special frames where the laws of physics are different. There clearly is a frame where the CMB is at rest, and so this is, in some sense, the rest frame of the Universe. But for doing any physics experiment, any other frame is as good as this one. So the only difference is that in the CMB rest frame you measure no velocity with respect to the CMB photons, but that does not imply any fundamental difference in the laws of physics."

Please see also the earlier posts, Earth's speed around the universe and How fast are you moving when you are sitting still?

[Image: NASA]

CMB, CMBR, CMBR dipole, Earth speed, Virgo Cluster

Comments

[Xiaoyu]

I want to ask a question:if aliens living on a planet 1 million light year away from us,after their civilization evolved to have discovered the CMB. we set an observatory site at the exact mid between the alien planet and earth as to receive both planets' measurement result of the CMBR(data sent at "the same time",which was triggered and data transfered by light signals). Will the observatory get the exact same image of the CMBR from both?

for my understanding,as well as one of my hypothesis,i think the image will be the same.and on all those places that is omni-directionally 1 million light year far from the observatory shall have measured the exact same image of the CMBR upon the trigger signal from the observatory.UNLESS CMBR is not the edge of the universe.

The edge of the Universe shall be relatively rest or not rest,and all laws get consistent there.i think the laws of relativity shows the fundamental incosistency of those laws when applied anywhere else other than the edge of the universe as well as the point of NOW.

I think universe is absolutely consistent at(or between) two events(or two places):
1)NOW
2)The birth moment of the universe or the edge of the universe.

and laws will be consistent for above two events,but inconsistent between one of these two events and any other event.

and laws will also be consistent for all such events relatively the same distance far from any given event,but incosistent between any two events(without relativity).

obviously,i am an assentient of the expansion model.