Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought (gizmodo.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the revised-estimates dept.

An anonymous reader writes from a report via Gizmodo: The Hubble Space Telescope has released some new numbers indicating that the rate of expansion of our universe is approximately 45.5 miles per second per megaparsec. It calculated this by measuring the distance between 19 faraway galaxies. Conceptually, the calculations show that space is expanding fast enough to essentially double the distance between our galaxy and our nearest neighbors in about 10 billion years. The new Hubble constant, which is 5 to 9 percent higher than previous estimates, does not match estimated expansion rates from the energetic leftovers of the Big Bang, thus causing a headache for cosmologists. It could mean that Einstein's theory of relativity is incomplete and/or there are processes pushing space apart that we have yet to account for.

3 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Another example of... by IHTFISP · · Score: 3, Funny

    Global Warming? ;-P

    --
    Error: NSE - No Signature Error
  2. that's why we never get any visitors by turkeydance · · Score: 3, Funny

    we move too fast.

  3. miles per second per megaparsec by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Miles per second per megaparsec" is quite a surprising unit choice. Either use international unit system, or something else, but the mix is odd.

    What about "miles per second per peta-yards?"