Universum death uncharted – time measured out – Göteborgs-Posten

The universe is about to die. Time there is very long but the end is inevitable.

Now, scientists have made a precise calculation of the process. It shows that the amount of energy produced in the universe has been halved in the last two billions of years.

Robert Cumming, astronomer at Onsala Space Observatory. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall / TT

It has been speculated relatively long time for the universe’s future, and it has been known since the late 1990s that slowly fades.

But the new study, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union’s ongoing General Assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii, gives a much more accurate picture than before.

Scientists have made use of several of the most powerful telescopes on Earth and three telescopes in orbit in space.

They have these studied more than 200 000 galaxies and measured the energy produced in their vicinity.

Darker and darker

– It has been compared to the amount of light at all wavelengths, and when it has been possible to see that the universe is darker than it was before, says Robert Cumming, astronomer at Onsala Space Observatory.

The amount of light or energy is assumed to have been the greatest for about ten billion years ago, when the universe was only three billion years old. At the time, formed more stars in the galaxies than has been done before or later. Since then, energy production gradually waned and galaxies faded.

– You could say that the universe by now has become a bit middle-aged, says Cumming.

Slow Death

This means that the universe get darker and colder, a place where all the stars gradually disappears. The researchers behind the study speaks of a slow death, that the universe is approaching an “eternal slumber.” Cumming is, however, doubtful about such expressions.

– I would limit myself to say that the universe is slowly fading, he said.

How long is left until everything goes black no one knows. The only thing that is safe to time there are long, many billions of years. Before then, most likely, both the sun and the earth had ended their life paths.

The universe is thought to have formed about 13.8 billion years ago at the event known as the Big Bang. It consists of nearly 200 billion galaxies – possibly many more – each of which contains about 100 billion stars.

Of the speeches indicate that the size of the universe is beyond our comprehension. Some researchers believe it is infinite.

According to the new study falls in energy production in the universe for a long time. That means, according to the researchers, that the universe becomes increasingly dark and goes towards its slow death.

Source: ESO.