[Epoch Times, May 23, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) NASA says that some strange things are happening in our universe, and its expansion rate is much faster than expected.
Scientists have been studying new data from the Hubble Space Telescope. The inflation rate has become much faster than expected, they said.
The new study, published May 19, analyzed 30 years of data from the famous space telescope to produce the most imprecise estimate yet of the rate at which the universe is expanding.
Adam Riess, Nobel Laureate, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Johns Hopkins University, said: “You’re moving away from the gold standard of telescopes and cosmic mile markers. Get the most precise measurement of the expansion rate of the universe.”
NASA says Hubble has calibrated more than four dozen of these mile markers since the telescope was launched in 1990.
The study of how the universe is expanding and how fast it is expanding began in 1920. At the time, measurements by Edwin P Hubble and Georges Lemaitre showed that galaxies beyond our own were not stationary. In fact, these galaxies are moving away from us, as NASA explained in a blog post.
Hubble has added that the galaxies are moving at an uneven, increasing speed. The farther a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it moves. Since then, scientists have tried to understand the phenomenon and measure the speed of this expansion. Now, however, with data from Hubble, it appears that the aforementioned expansion is even faster than the models predicted.
The observations show that the speed per megasecond is not the expected 67.5 (plus or minus 0.5) km/s, but 73 (plus or minus 1) km/s.
The observations also show that other galaxies are accelerating away from our own Milky Way.
But scientists haven’t been able to figure out why, so for now all they can say is that something weird is going on.
“The reason for this discrepancy remains a mystery. But the Hubble data, including various cosmic objects as distance markers, support the idea that something strange is going on,” officials said in a release. It could involve entirely new physics.”
When it comes to measuring the stars, the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most powerful tools the world has ever known. Hubble is currently on a larger mission to determine how fast our universe is expanding.
Scientists now await data from the new James Webb Space Telescope, which will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of this question.
“The Webb Space Telescope will expand on Hubble’s work to display these cosmic milestones at greater distances or with sharper resolution,” NASA said.
The telescope has just been launched into space and will soon bring back its first observations.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#