Galaxy Clusters' Stunted Growth Confirms Dark Energy

A new study of 86 galaxy clusters in the early universe has provided independent confirmation of the existence of dark energy. In its absence, gravity's pull should have caused the number of clusters to increase by a factor of 50 over the last 5.5 billion years. What is observed is a factor of 10 increase. "Together with earlier observations... the new data strengthen the suspicion — but do not prove — that dark energy is a weird antigravity called the cosmological constant that was hypothesized and then abandoned by Albert Einstein as a 'blunder' almost a century ago. If that is true, the universe is fated to empty itself out eventually, and all but the Milky Way's closest neighbors will eventually be out of sight. ... Adam Riess of Johns Hopkins and the Space Telescope Science Institute, said: 'If this was a fox hunt and dark energy was the fox, I think they have closed off another escape route. But there is still a lot of terrain left for the fox, and we've seen little more than a glimmer of fur.'"

Comments

Fox Hunt?

[GradiusCVK]

Adam Riess of Johns Hopkins and the Space Telescope Science Institute, said: 'If this was a fox hunt and dark energy was the fox, I think they have closed off another escape route. But there is still a lot of terrain left for the fox, and we've seen little more than a glimmer of fur.'

Hmmm, not sure if I follow, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like what he's saying is that if this were a highway chase and dark energy were a criminal's car, then they have placed a police car as a barracade in the way... but there's still a lot of exits around, and we've only seen a glimmer of chrome?

Re:Fox Hunt?

[Thanshin]

You got it wrong, he wasn't talking about fox, the animal, but about Fox Mulder.

Dark energy is what took his sister to a distant galaxy and that distance is growing every day. The FBI are closing escape routes, but the dark energetic abductor has still much galaxy to run.

The glimer of fur thing must be a reference to the sister.

Re:Fox Hunt?

[TapeCutter]

"The glimer of fur thing must be a reference to the sister.".

NASA confirms it!.

Re:Fox Hunt?

[grahamd0]

...nor am I sure how dogs would help track down dark matter...

Duh! You take one of dark matter's old socks give the tracking dogs a whiff. It doesn't take an astro-physicist to figure that out.

Obligatory xkcd

[RuBLed]

It's not dark energy, it's your mom!

Re:blunder

[reallyjoel]

Bah, you're not so smart, who do you think you are, Einstein?

Re:Logic

[Thanshin]

You think that's air you're breathing now?

In other news, Einstein's grave is...

[NinthAgendaDotCom]

...reportedly spinning and expanding by a factor of 50 as he realizes he shouldn't have called it a blunder. :-)

Re:Logic

[dreamchaser]

That whooshing sound was GP's Matrix themed joke flying right over your head. Turn in your geek card at the desk on your way out please.

^2

[Anonymous Coward]

> It's not dark energy, it's your mom!

That's what she said!

Re:Logic

[MaskedSlacker]

I think missing a reference to a the Matrix should only burnish ones geek credentials--it's like the star wars prequels. I've tried so hard to forget.

Re:Timescales (Re:The Ultimate Fate of the Univers

[iamnothere900]

I honestly can't tell if you're incredibly insightful or just adding words after one another. My brain hurts either way.