Hi Pragmatist:

I read the link you provided and I am duly impressed with the complexity of the issues facing the experts in their study of the universe. No doubt the only people that will make progress in the areas in which they search will be the academics that are being paid to do the work and that have the expensive and exotic equipment required for their work. I note your author tells us there will be a new orbiting telescope for their use in the near future and it will be exciting to see what they find in the distance.

I am not much interested in the universe except possibly in a philosophical way. I may make a comment once in a while on the Big Bang theory because the origins of same bear such a strong comparison to creation and that turns the topic into an unwelcome comparison. I am not paid to have opinions on this subject like your author and I could not qualify if the job was available.

My interest for possibly 40 years or more has focused on the Solar System. Mainly dealing with the mechanics of the operation and searching out the curious things that are usually not discussed by the experts- or for that matter that they are unaware of. This limitation works for me because I only require published data from the experts as my tools and a fertile imagination. A computer and a good calculator help.
jjw