Dark Energy

Astronomers studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have found new direct evidence for dark energy, the mysterious substance that appears to be accelerating the expansion of the universe. Their findings could also help map the structure of dark matter on the universe's largest length scales. The CMB is the faint afterglow of the universe's birth in the Big Bang. About 400,000 years after its creation, the universe had cooled sufficiently to allow electrons to bind to atomic nuclei. This "recombination" set the CMB radiation free from the dense fog of plasma that was containing it. Space telescopes such as WMAP and Planck have charted the CMB and found its presence in all parts of the sky, with a temperature of 2.7 K. Measurements also show tiny fluctuations in this temperature on the scale of one part in a million. These fluctuations follow a Gaussian distribution. 


For more information go to http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46572

Picture Courtesy of European Space Agency