Dark Energy Expands the Universe
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- Visualizations by:
- Dana Berry
- View full credits
It is believed that after the Big Bang, the universe originally decelerated in its expansion, but then 'changed gears' and began to accelerate. The unknown force causing this recent acceleration is dubbed the 'Dark Energy.' This visualization flies through a series of galaxy clusters, the largerst gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA
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Animator
- Dana Berry (Skyworks Digital) [Lead]
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Writer
- Michael McClare (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related pages
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ID: 11445 Produced Video
Cosmic Clumps
Read moreWhen hot gas and millions of stars coalesce into galaxies, the gravity that glues these systems together may also recruit thousands of other galaxies to form one massive galaxy cluster. Stretching across millions of light-years and swarming with up to trillions of stars, galaxy clusters comprise the largest gravitationally bound objects in the known universe. Their sheer size and high composition of mysterious dark matter make them prized research subjects for astrophysicists. Using images of galaxy clusters from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have calculated that dark matter makes up approximately 23 percent of all matter and energy in space. These measurements impart clues into the ways dark matter may be driving the expansion of the universe after the Big Bang. Watch the video for a look inside a galaxy cluster. ||
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