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Credit: Lynette Cook
Explanation:
How will our universe end?
Recent speculation now includes a pervasive growing field of
mysterious repulsive
phantom energy that rips virtually everything apart.
Although the universe started with a
Big Bang, analysis of
cosmological
measurements
allows a possibility that it will end with a
Big Rip.
As soon as few billion years from now,
the controversial scenario holds,
dark energy will grow to such a magnitude that our
own Galaxy will no longer be able to hold itself together.
After that, stars,
planets, and then even
atoms might not be able to withstand the
expansive internal force.
Previously, speculation on the
ultimate fate
of the universe centered on either a re-collapsing
Big Crunch or a
Big Freeze.
Although the
universe's fate
is still a puzzle,
piecing it together will likely follow from an
increased understanding of the nature of
dark matter and
dark energy.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: cosmology - dark energy
Publications with words: cosmology - dark energy
See also: