Dark Energy

Dark Energy

big crunch
It started with a bang, but won't end with one. Instead, it will "rage against the dying of the light" like nothing you've ever imagined.
universe rotating
At all distances, the Universe expands along our line-of-sight. But we can't measure side-to-side motions; could it be rotating as well?
time
Modern cosmology conjectures different possible fates for the Universe and thus for the end of time. Details depend on which model is right.
dark energy
The Universe is expanding, and the Hubble constant tells us how fast. But how can it be a constant if the expansion is accelerating?
galaxy cluster colors
Over time, the Universe becomes less dominated by dark matter and more dominated by dark energy. Is one transforming into the other?
big crunch
13.8 billion years ago, the hot Big Bang gave rise to the Universe we know. Here's why the reverse, a Big Crunch, isn't how it will end.
Silhouette of a person standing on a field at night, gazing at a clear sky filled with stars and glowing celestial objects, evoking the wonder described by Jim Al-Khalili.
Popular media often frame scientists as having a cold, sterile view of the world. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
John Templeton Foundation
James Webb Hubble
Look out at a distant object, and you're not seeing it as it is today. It's size, brightness, and actual distance are all different.
el gordo colliding galaxy cluster
The laws of physics state that you can't create or destroy matter without also creating or destroying an equal amount of antimatter. So how are we here?
hot big bang
When we look out at the Universe, even with Hubble, we're only seeing the closest, biggest, brightest galaxies. Here's where the rest are.
With 1550 distinct type Ia supernovae measured across ~10 billion years of cosmic time, the Pantheon+ data set reveals our Universe.
space expanding
Yes, the Universe is expanding, but you might wonder, "How fast is it expanding?"
CMB cold spot
The Universe is supposed to be the same everywhere and in all directions. So what's that giant "cold spot" doing out there?
m81 group
Just 12 million light-years away, the galaxies Messier 81 and 82 offer a nearby preview of the Milky Way-Andromeda merger.
travel straight line
Is the Universe finite or infinite? Does it go on forever or loop back on itself? Here's what would happen if you traveled forever.
big bang
There are an estimated two trillion galaxies within the observable Universe. Most are already unreachable, and the situation only gets worse.
Alexander Friedmann
It is time to give the Russian cosmologist the credit he deserves.
universe temperature
We frequently say it's 2.725 K: from the light left over all the way from the Big Bang. But that's not all that's in the Universe.
redshift distance raisin bread
There are two fundamentally different ways of measuring the Universe's expansion. They disagree. "Early dark energy" might save us.
Friedmann equation
From before the Big Bang to the present day, the Universe goes through many eras. Dark energy heralds the final one.
primordial black holes
Known as primordial black holes, they could thoroughly change our Universe's history. But the evidence is strongly against them.
multiverse a fortunate universe
A wild, compelling idea without a direct, practical test, the Multiverse is highly controversial. But its supporting pillars sure are stable.
Developing an awareness of and an appreciation for science is what we all truly need, not what we've been doing.
hot big bang
We know it couldn't have began from a singularity. So how small could it have been at the absolute minimum?
expanding universe
After more than two decades of precision measurements, we've now reached the "gold standard" for how the pieces don't fit.
warp drive
The same (former) NASA engineer who previously claimed to violate Newton's laws is now claiming to have made a warp bubble. He didn't.
false vacuum
There's a big difference between the notions of 'false vacuum' and 'true vacuum' states. Here's why we don't want to live in the former.
Without these two elements, we’re doomed to fail. In this day and age, it’s virtually impossible to have sufficient expertise to figure out what the complete, comprehensive, scientifically validated truth surrounding […]
Whatever’s lurking out there, it isn’t all, or even mostly, normal matter. When it comes to the Universe, it’s only natural to wonder what, exactly, it is that makes everything up. […]
If it wasn’t a singularity, how small could it have been? Today, when you look out in any direction as far as the laws of physics allow us to see, the […]