Surprising Science — January 16, 2011

The End of Star Gazing

When future astronomers look to the sky, they will no longer witness the past. Observations will reveal nothing but an endless stretch of inky black stillness.

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If the dark energy doesn’t degrade over time, then the accelerated expansion of space will continue unabated, dragging away distant galaxies ever farther and ever faster. A hundred billion years from now, any galaxy that’s not resident in our neighborhood will have been swept away by swelling space for so long that it will be racing from us at faster than the speed of light. (Although nothing can move through space faster than the speed of light, there’s no limit on how fast space itself can expand.) Light emitted by such galaxies will therefore fight a losing battle to traverse the rapidly widening gulf that separates us.

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A graphical representation illustrating the concept of the big bang and the subsequent expansion of the universe, depicted by a transition from a singular point of energy to a wide, grid-like spread of galaxies and celestial elements

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Is it all-or-nothing for the expanding Universe?

On the largest of cosmic scales, the Universe is expanding. But it isn’t all-or-nothing everywhere, as “collapse” is also part of the story.

Hard Science

The “least crazy” idea: Early dark energy could solve a cosmological conundrum

Measurements of the acceleration of the universe don’t agree, stumping physicists working to understand the cosmic past and future. A new proposal seeks to better align these estimates — and is likely testable.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Can black holes really cause dark energy?

Since its observation discovery in the 1990s, dark energy has been one of science’s biggest mysteries. Could black holes be the cause?

Starts With A Bang

The Universe is disappearing, and we’re powerless to stop it

There are an estimated two trillion galaxies within the observable Universe. Most are already unreachable, and the situation only gets worse.

Starts With A Bang

How Far Could A Spaceship Go If We Never Ran Out Of Thrust?

A single lifetime is more than enough to take you to the limits of the Universe. Right now, there are only three things limiting how far our spacecrafts can take […]

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