ShareSave
ShareSave
The mysterious force called Dark Energy, which drives the expansion of the Universe, might be changing in a way that challenges our current understanding of time and space, scientists have found.
Some of them believe that they may be on the verge of one of the biggest discoveries in astronomy for a generation – one that could force a fundamental rethink.
This early-stage finding is at odds with the current theory which was developed in part by Albert Einstein.
More data is needed to confirm these results, but even some of the most cautious and respected researchers involved in the study, such as Prof Ofer Lahav, from University College London, are being swept up by the mounting evidence.
“It is a dramatic moment,” he told BBC News.
“We may be witnessing a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Universe.”
The discovery of Dark Energy in 1998 was in itself shocking. Up until then the view had been that after the Big Bang, which created the Universe, its expansion would slow down under the force of gravity.
But observations by US and Australian scientists found that it was actually speeding up. They had no idea what the force driving this was, so they gave it a name signifying their lack of understanding – Dark Energy.
Although we don’t know what Dark Energy is – it is one of the greatest mysteries in science – astronomers can
The post Dark Energy experiment challenges Einstein’s theory of Universe first appeared on EnviroLink Network.
