Some Scientists Are Skeptical Dark Energy Even Exists — But Others Push Back

Some scientists have been poking at the foundations of dark energy, but many say the concept remains on solid, if mysterious, ground.

By Ramin Skibba
Jan 24, 2020 10:30 PMJan 24, 2020 10:33 PM
supernova-2
Spiral galaxy NGC 5714. In 2003, a faint supernova (not visible in this later picture) appeared about 8000 light-years below the central bulge of NGC 5714. (Credit: European Space Agency via Flickr)

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Since the dawn of the universe, the biggest stars have ended their lives with a bang, blowing out their outer layers in bright, fiery bursts that can be seen many light-years away. Astronomers use these supernova explosions like marks on an expanding balloon to measure how fast the universe is growing.

Based on studies of dozens of supernova explosions, astronomers in the late 1990s realized that the universe's expansion seems to be accelerating. They hypothesized that some unseen "energy," which works the opposite of gravity, was pushing everything outward. The concept of so-called dark energy quickly became popular, and ultimately, scientists' consensus view. It earned three physicists the 2011 Nobel Prize.

Recently, however, some scientists have been poking at this foundation of dark energy research.

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