Dark Energy

Last year, physicists reported that an experimental dark matter detector picked up a strange signal. A new Cambridge study suggests it could be the first direct detection of dark energy, the mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the universe.

Space is an exceptionally strange place, full of signals and observations that defy our understanding of the universe. In trying to explain these mysteries, sometimes astronomers hypothesize extremely exotic objects that we haven’t yet found.

Why is the expansion of the universe accelerating? The leading hypothesis is a repellent force that astrophysicists refer to as “dark energy." But how does it work? What does it mean for our future? And how sure are we that it even exists?

The expansion of the universe is accelerating, and current models call the driving force dark energy. But perhaps this placeholder doesn’t exist – a new study has found that dark matter could produce the same effect if it had some form of magnetism.

Astronomers have captured a stunning image of one of the Milky Way’s neighboring spiral galaxies. The portrait was taken using an instrument that was created to hunt down dark energy – a force that may be accelerating the expansion of the universe.

Scientists have estimated the total amount of matter in the universe using a more precise method. By calculating the mass of hundreds of galaxy clusters, the team found that matter makes up around a third of the contents of the universe.

Exactly why and how the expansion of the universe is accelerating remains unknown. One hypothesis blames strange black-hole-like objects made of dark energy, and now astrophysicists have theorized how these objects work and where they all went.

NASA has officially named its next planet hunter. Previously known as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, who has often been referred to as the Mother of Hubble.

Well over 100 new minor planets have been discovered in our solar system, in the darkness out beyond the orbit of Neptune. The discoveries were made by sifting through several years’ worth of data gathered by the Dark Energy Survey (DES).

The universe is believed to be expanding at an accelerating rate, thanks to a mysterious force dubbed dark energy. But how exactly does this force work?

Hypothetical “chameleon” particles could be behind dark energy, and physicists at CERN have been searching for these particles streaming from the Sun. Now, the team has reported the first results of their search.

The first images from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) were snapped this week. DESI is designed to hunt for clues about dark energy by building a comprehensive 3D map of the sky. On April 1 DESI achieved “first light” with a mesmerizing image of the Whirlpool Galaxy.