Our Universe Is Expanding A Lot Faster Than We Thought

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The “penguin galaxy” is the result of the collision between two separate galaxies. Dark matter may be keeping them together, but dark energy is tearing the universe apart. ESA/Hubble

The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. This is a problem: The continuation of this will result in universe-wide cooling, eventually becoming too cold to sustain life. Ultimately, with heat evenly distributed across the cosmos, time itself will come to an end. Scientists trying to work out this expansion rate are essentially calculating the time until the universe ends.