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Hubble Finds Dark Energy in Young Universe

Posted on: Thursday, 16 November 2006, 18:00 CST

Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered dark energy is not new to space but has been present for most of the universe's history.

Dark energy is a mysterious repulsive force that causes the universe to expand at an increasing rate.

Astronomers using Hubble have determined dark energy was boosting the expansion rate of the universe as long as 9 billion years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said, noting that's consistent with Albert Einstein's prediction of nearly a century ago that a repulsive form of gravity emanates from empty space.

Although dark energy accounts for more than 70 percent of the energy of the universe, we know very little about it, so each clue is precious, said Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Riess led one of the first studies to reveal the presence of dark energy in 1998 and is the leader of NASA's current Hubble study. Our latest clue is that the stuff we call dark energy was relatively weak, but starting to make its presence felt 9 billion years ago.

The latest Hubble results are based on an analysis of the 24 most distant supernovae known.

Source: United Press International

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