Dark Energy Is More Real than Ever
	Approximately a decade ago astronomers discovered that not only is the universe expanding in space-time, but also that this expansion is accelerating. Since there was no explanation to why this is happening, they proposed the concept of dark energy, a form of energy that makes up about 75 percent of the mass of the universe, was never directly observed and exerts a force of repulsion towards all normal matter in the universe, causing the l ... [read more >>]
	24 May 2008, 04:54GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Universe in a Test Tube
	What better way to understand the universe than to create your very own? Of course, black holes, supernova explosions and Big Bangs are off limits for laboratories on Earth, but helium-3 cooled to only 17,7 degrees Celsius above absolute zero will do just as good in replicating the processes that took place soon after the Big Bang event, leading to the rapid expansion of the universe in space-time and ultimately to the creation of galaxies ... [read more >>]
	09 May 2008, 04:18GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Ancient Supernovae Appear to Age Slower
	A comparison between supernova explosions taking place today and those that occurred early in the life of the universe reveals that the latter appear to age slower, as if time was warped somehow. It may look as counterintuitive or even impossible to some of us, but in fact, this is confirmed by the inflation theory, stating that soon after the Big Bang the universe suffered a sudden expansion into space-time and is still expanding even tod ... [read more >>]
	29 April 2008, 02:51GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Is the Universe Really Expanding?
	Geza Dyuk, the director of Astronomy at the Adler Planetarium, says that the universe is indeed expanding. Incredibly, even the great German physicist Albert Einstein didn't know for certain if the universe was expanding or contracting, at the time when he published his Theory of Relativity back in 1905. So, while working at the General Theory of Relativity, he considered the universe to be static, only to find out later tha ... [read more >>]
	19 January 2008, 03:40GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Forget About the Big Bang!
	Even today, most of the scientific communities still believe that the universe might have originated in a Big Bang explosion, but have no way to prove such process ever took place. Furthermore, although singularity-like objects are allowed to exist in the fabric of space-time, models explaining how such structures could experience a rapid expansion are currently unavailable. Over time, alternative theories have been construc ... [read more >>]
	15 January 2008, 11:03GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

And What About the Dark Matter?
	What is the dark matter? I don't know; in fact, nobody knows for certain what it is. However, we do know two basic facts: we proved that it does exist, and without it the galaxies would mostly fall apart. Nevertheless, it is extremely hard to create a complete image of the past and future of the universe, when you do not know exactly how heavy it is and its current rough mass distribution. Physicists have tried in vain ... [read more >>]
	12 January 2008, 07:14GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Universe Might Have Originated in a Big Splat!
	Current theories about the beginning of the universe predict that all the observed matter originated in a single point in space, a singularity, which suddenly expanded in space-time provoking the so-called Big Bang. The light emitted by the glowing matter in the beginning of the universe slowly shifted towards the infrared spectrum and is currently detected in the microwave wavelength as the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, ... [read more >>]
	27 December 2007, 02:52GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

New String Theory Model Incorporates Inflation
	For years now, the Standard Model has been used by physicists as the main theory in studying the universe. After the electric and the magnetic mixed into the electromagnetic force, and after the release of Einstein's theory of relativity, scientists tried to unify the remaining forces – gravity, strong nuclear forces, and the weak nuclear forces into a theory that could explain everything. Right from the beginning, they noticed so ... [read more >>]
	26 October 2007, 06:05GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia