Question 2 of 11

In August 2007, scientists from the University of Minnesota published a report in the Astrophysical Journal that there was a hole in the universe. They claimed the hole spanned ____.

... Scientists reported that the hole in the universe spans one billion light years and that it's located about six to 10 billion light years away from Earth.

Question 3 of 11

What constitutes a hole in the universe?

... The hole that scientists observed was constituted by the complete absence of cosmic matter -- there were no stars, planets, solar systems or even clouds of cosmic dust to be found.

Question 4 of 11

How do researchers measure dark matter?

... Researchers measure dark matter by its gravitational pull. It's really the only way to observe it, since dark matter is invisible.

Question 5 of 11

NASA scientists originally found evidence of the hole while making observations for another study about what?

... A NASA program dedicated to studying the spread of radiation emitted from the Big Bang stumbled upon the hole.

Question 6 of 11

Other holes in the universe have been detected before -- but they're much smaller, measuring about 1/1000th the size of this one. What are these smaller holes called?

... Voids are smaller holes in the universe, one of which has been located two million light years away.

Question 7 of 11

What is the likeliest explanation for the occurrence of voids in the universe?

... The most plausible explanation for these giant voids is the regions of space with high mass pull matter from less massive areas over the course of billions of years.

Question 8 of 11

NASA is using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe to map ___.

... The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe is a satellite that maps cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. CMB is a byproduct of the Big Bang.

Question 9 of 11

Before the University of Minnesota researchers pursued a study on the giant hole in the universe, it was referred to as the ___.

... NASA scientists referred to the hole as the WMAP Cold Spot because they measured colder temperatures here than in surrounding areas of the universe.

Question 10 of 11

In areas that lack dark energy, the interaction between photons and the gravitational force of objects in space results in:

... There's no net change in energy when photons interact with the gravitational force of objects in space where there's no dark energy. The photons and objects simply exchange energy as the photons approach the objects and then move away from them.

Question 11 of 11

While scientists are still learning about dark matter and dark energy, they know for certain that dark energy:

... Dark energy is even more mysterious than dark matter, but scientists are sure that dark energy has something to do with accelerating the universe's growth -- particularly in more recent cosmological history.

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