Science & Technology

Major Astronomical Study confirms Mysterious-Dark Energy

Elvira Veksler
Business 2 Community
Tue, 24 May 2011 10:37 UTC

A mysterious dark energy which permeates space and increases the rate of expansion of the Universe was confirmed by a major astronomical survey Thursday. The BBC has reported that the study concluded that "Dark energy makes up some 74% of the Universe and its existence would explain why the Universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate."

Dr. Chris Blake of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia said that "The action of dark energy is as if you threw a ball up in the air, and it kept speeding upward into the sky faster and faster." He added, "The results tell us that dark energy is a cosmological constant, as Einstein proposed. If gravity were the culprit, then we wouldn't be seeing these constant effects of dark energy throughout time."

Scientists used two autonomous types of observations, measuring a pattern in how galaxies are distributed through space and calculating how quickly clusters of galaxies have formed over time. Both techniques confirmed the existence of dark energy.

Scientists found that dark energy makes up 74% of the Universe, dark matter makes up 22%, and ordinary matter (gas, stars, planets, and galaxies) makes up a mere 4%.

Cosmologist Bob Nicholl told BBC News that "This is a major step forward. These guys are serious, major scientists and we've been waiting for this result for some time."

Reader Comments

mktbwisdom · 2011-05-24T11:31:25Z

Really?

That doesn't sound very conclusive to me.

Appollynon · 2011-05-24T14:15:17Z

Dark Energy or something else?

After reading Donald Scott's "The Electric Sky", I can't help but wonder if much of the mysterious Dark Energy could be understood as Plasma in Dark Current Mode? Which would basically mean that all those vast empty vacuum's and spaces we are told about actually contain plasma in Dark Current Mode, which has a weak electric current density, but an existing and measurable current nonetheless. Earth's Ionosphere is an example of plasma operating in dark current mode.

The Earth's Ionosphere does not usually emit light because the plasma in the Ionosphere doesn't glow due to it's low current density, instead it radiates the longer wavelengths of radio waves that aren't in the visual light spectrum. However when the current density is increased, the stronger the current density in a given area of plasma, the more the plasma will go from the Dark Current Mode, to the Normal glow Mode, a good example of which can be seen in Aurora's and the highly charged Sprites, Elves, Blue Jets and Gigantic Jets we see above storm cells.

Another example would be the experiments carried out with the HAARP apparatus Laura has mentioned in the recent flashback article, which produced those glowing green speckles when the current density of the plasma in the Ionosphere was receiving the additional current from those antenna. Where there is current, no matter how weak, there is also a magnetic field, and the universe expansion model could perhaps be better understood if the expansion were due to magnetic fields and their effects of either attracting or repelling matter, dependent on the configuration of those fields, and where the electric fields of that plasma may start in a positively charged state and end in a negatively charged state may give us some clues about the placement and formation of galaxies along these intergalactic electric field lines.

Just a thought, and I’m still having fun learning, so I could be completely off track, but I thought the idea of plasma in dark glow mode with it’s electric fields and magnetic fields was a more simple and plausible explanation than the exotic explanations of Dark Energy.

NugaBurd · 2011-05-25T03:47:07Z

"...appears to be expanding..."

The BBC has reported that the study concluded that "Dark energy makes up some 74% of the Universe and its existence would explain why the Universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate."

I see; the universe not only APPEARS TO BE expanding, it also APPEARS TO BE expanding at at an accelerating rate.

This is what APPEARS TO BE science nowadays!