TOP 10 GALACTIC MYSTERIESRobert Lamb, HowStuffWorks.com
Fight to the Death A projection of the effect of dark energy on a galaxy cluster. Credit: K. Dolag/VVDS - For a full-resolution image, click here
1. Ruler of the Galaxies: Dark Energy or Gravity? Gravity and dark energy continue to duel for control of the universe. Dark energy pushes its expansion, and gravity coaxes matter together to form galaxies. Where does all this push and pull ultimately lead? One idea is that the universal expansion -- which seems to be speeding up -- will diminish and eventually reach a point at which it will collapse back in on itself in a "Big Crunch." Another theory, the "Big Rip," involves universal expansion becoming so rapid that it rips apart everything: galaxies, stars, planets and solar systems -- and eventually molecules and atoms. The remaining theory, sometimes called the "Big Chill," is that everything will just continue to expand indefinitely. This third option may sound less cataclysmic, but it means the further development of the galaxy may be stunted. Fewer old galaxies would collide to form new, rejuvenated galaxies. After a 100 billion years or so, the other galaxies would vanish from the Milky Way's view, forever out of reach because space has expanded faster than the speed of light. Clusters and super clusters of galaxies would simply disintegrate. Think of it as everything ending in a whimper rather than a bang. Article posted March 9, 2009. Got something to say? E-mail your questions, comments or concerns to discoveryspace@discovery.com. Click for More Articles by |
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Wide Angle: Galaxies
Want more? Click here for the rest of the Wide Angle: Galaxies. Credit: NASA/ESA
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