New information from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is teaching us about the destiny of the universe. A study of 26 galaxy clusters revealed that about 6 billion years ago, the universe began expanding faster. Dark energy is the enigmatic force that scientists believe pushes galaxies apart, causing the expansion. Judging from the Chandra study, the density of dark energy is fairly constant. If this is the case, the universe will slowly expand -- and billions of years from now, our nearest neighbors in space might not even be visible. There is still much to learn, but future studies may help explain how dark energy affects the future of the universe.
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NASA ID
ksc_052004_chandra
Date Created
May 20, 2004
Center
KSC
Media Type
video
Photographer
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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