Scientific Article for Students

→dark energy – science, not fiction

Abstract

Scientists have known for a while that the universe is expanding, and it’s doing so faster and faster. This strange phenomenon is caused by something we call dark energy. To understand this better, we need to think about a special number called the Cosmological Constant. It helps us describe how things move in space. 

In our research, we aimed to uncover how dark energy causes objects like stars and galaxies to interact. As an example, we’ve been studying our neighbor galaxy – Andromeda. By looking at how it moves and at its mass, we can see how dark energy affects it.

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About this Article

Reading Level
Scientific Topic
Key Words
NGSS Standards
AP Environmental Science Topics
IB Biology Topics
Scientific Methods
Type of Figure
Location of Research
Scientist Affiliation
Included Resources
+ Audio Version of Article + Links to activities exploring dark energy and dark matter + Link to NASA math and graphing activity
Publication Date
January 2024
Researchers found a way to quantify the effect dark energy is having on our universe.
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