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Dark Energy Confirmed

Posted by michael on from the universe-is-like-duct-tape dept.

bill_mcgonigle writes "By correlating the results of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, astronomers have confirmed the existence of dark energy. While gravity attracts, dark energy repels, so by comparing the positions of millions of galaxies and their red-shifts with the temperature map of the early universe, evidence was found for dark energy on the scale of 100 million light years. "Dark energy, whatever it is, is something that is not attracted by gravity" said David Spergel, a Princeton University cosmologist and a member of the WMAP science team. "We are finding that most of the stuff in our universe is abnormal in that it is gravitationally repulsive rather than gravitationally attractive," said Albert Stebbins of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, a switch that happened about 6.3 billion years ago, before which the expansion was decelerating."

9 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Must be that gosh-darn Global Warming... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, a switch that happened about 6.3 billion years ago, before which the expansion was decelerating.

    Must be that gosh-darn Global Warming...

    Paging Mr. Gore, Mr. Albert S. Gore...

  2. Normal vs Abnormal by Inexile2002 · · Score: 3, Funny
    "We are finding that most of the stuff in our universe is abnormal in that it is gravitationally repulsive rather than gravitationally attractive..."
    How can most of the universe be abnormal. Wouldn't the majority of the universe be "normal"? If most of the universe is repulsive instead of attractive (why did I think of the last three blind dates I've been on when I wrote that) then wouldn't repulsive be "normal". Right?

    Damn, now I'm thinking of Karen... talk about repulsive being normal.
  3. What exactly was confirmed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    As far as I can tell, all that was confirmed was an unexplainable acceleration in the expansion of the universe.

  4. At Last by EddWo · · Score: 0, Funny

    So I just need to get me some of that dark matter, that radiates dark enery/anti gravity field, and then I can build myself my flying car. Cool

    --
    "Taligent is still pure vapor. Maybe they'll be the last who jumps up on Openstep... "
  5. Clever names. by Spudley · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...said Albert Stebbins of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

    Why do all the really clever people in the world have to be named Albert? ;-)

    --
    (Spudley Strikes Again!)
  6. Oh. It's not `dork matters`. D'oh! by AtariAmarok · · Score: 2, Funny

    I misread this at first, I thought it was some sort of reference to the Slashdot motto "news for nerds, stuff that matters". My mistake.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  7. Albert Gore, Super Genius by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "Why do all the really clever people in the world have to be named Albert? ;-)"

    Except that that b00b who went around saying that he invented the Internet.

  8. Judging from my single status.. by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... I'd say that I'm the MASTER OF DARK ENERGY! Buaahaha

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  9. Whoa... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    Call CNN! I can see the headline now:

    Slashdotter solves major physics conundrum

    Of course, I don't know which would actually be the most interesting story; that this showed up here, or that the poor pathetic bastard actually appears to think he's on to something...