by Ramona Taylor

Created on: September 06, 2010   Last Updated: September 20, 2010

In April 1990, when the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was launched into orbit, scientists had high hopes that the telescope would help them map out the visible universe; however, few were really prepared for the Hubble revelations about the unseen world of dark matter and energy.  Making up more than 72% of the physical universe, dark energy is a cosmological mystery that intrigues the general public and baffles scientists.

By Definition- What is Dark Energy?

Seeming more like a creation of science fiction than science fact, dark energy is more than the opposite of dark matter.  Dark energy, considered a property of space, is the energy or force which acts upon objects that causes them to repel at an accelerated rate.  Some theorize that this energy is a type of anti-gravity.

The Discovery of Dark Energy

Using the HST, scientists were analyzing images of the Bullet Cluster.  In this area of space, supernovae were being studied because there were indications that cosmic matter was being emitted with little or no radiation.  These discoveries of dark matter lead to another realization.  As scientists studied the stars, they noticed that their ideas of the expanding universe implied that the rate of expansion would be slower over time, but their findings revealed the opposite. Something else, not explained wholly by Einstein’s theory of gravitation, had to be facilitating the universe’s expansion.  This something, scientist named dark energy.

What is Known?

Before Einstein’s theories of relativity and Newton’s laws of motion and gravity,  and before Aristotle’s concept of the elements and the world, scientists have tried to unravel the mystery of our visible universe.  From what modern physicists and astronomers can determine, dark energy has existed most of the history of the universe.  It stands as a repulsive force that emanates from what we consider empty space. Dark energy, like its cosmic cohort dark matter, does not interact with light and serves as a dark void. As a property of space, dark energy is made up of particles with varying energies.

Concepts of Matter and Energy

Everything in the universe is made up of matter and energy.  Matter is made up of atoms and molecules which define our physical world.   Energy, whether kinetic or potential, is the ability to cause change.  Popular forms of energy include light, electromagnetic

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>