Scientists have found new evidence suggesting that Dark Energy, the mysterious force driving the expansion of the universe, may be changing over time. If confirmed, this discovery could lead to a fundamental shift in our understanding of space, time, and cosmology.
A Paradigm Shift in Astronomy?
Some researchers believe they are on the brink of one of the biggest breakthroughs in astronomy in a generation. The findings contradict aspects of Einstein’s theory, which has long guided our understanding of the cosmos.
“This is a dramatic moment,” said Prof Ofer Lahav of University College London (UCL) in an interview with BBC News.
“We may be witnessing a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Universe.”
Dark Energy: A Mystery Deepens
Dark Energy was first discovered in 1998, when astronomers found that instead of slowing down, the universe’s expansion was accelerating. Scientists did not understand the cause and labeled it Dark Energy to signify its unknown nature.
To study it, researchers have been observing how galaxies move apart over time. One of the most advanced projects investigating this is the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona. This device, made up of 5,000 robotic telescopes, rapidly scans galaxies to measure their distances.
A Growing “Blip” in the Data
Last year, DESI detected a hint that the force exerted by Dark Energy had changed over time. Initially, many scientists believed it was just an error in the data.
However, one year later, the anomaly has grown stronger.
“The evidence is stronger now than it was,” said Prof Seshadri Nadathur from the University of Portsmouth.
“We’ve performed many additional tests, and they make us confident that this isn’t an unknown error in the data.”
A “Weird” Force Getting Even Weirder
The findings, though not yet officially classified as a discovery, have caught the attention of leading scientists.
“Dark Energy appears to be even weirder than we thought,” said Prof Catherine Heymans, Scotland’s Astronomer Royal from Edinburgh University.
“In 2024, the data was uncertain. But now, with more evidence and scrutiny, we might be edging toward a major breakthrough.”
Yet, what exactly is causing the variation in Dark Energy’s force remains unknown.
“No one knows!” said Prof Lahav.
“If this new result is correct, we need a new theory to explain it. That’s what makes this so exciting.”
The Search for Answers Continues
Over the next two years, DESI will continue collecting data, aiming to measure 50 million galaxies to verify these observations. Meanwhile, the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission, launched in 2023, is providing even deeper insights into Dark Energy by observing galaxies further away.
“We’re in the business of letting the Universe tell us how it works,” said Andrei Cuceu, a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
“Maybe it’s more complicated than we thought.”
The DESI project includes over 900 researchers from 70 institutions worldwide, including Durham, UCL, and Portsmouth University from the UK.
If these findings hold, our understanding of the cosmos may be on the verge of a revolutionary transformation.