{"id":57579,"date":"2024-04-13T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec971274-4591-458b-b2bf-e70e41a58bae"},"modified":"2024-04-13T10:08:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T10:08:22","slug":"theres-something-wrong-with-our-understanding-of-the-universe-and-how-much-it-has-expanded-since-the-big-bang","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/theres-something-wrong-with-our-understanding-of-the-universe-and-how-much-it-has-expanded-since-the-big-bang\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s something wrong with our understanding of the Universe, and how much it has expanded since the Big Bang"},"content":{"rendered":"

JWST confirms \u2018Hubble tension\u2019 isn\u2019t down to observational error. <\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n <\/p>

Published: Saturday, 13 April 2024 at 09:37 AM<\/p>

\n\n

There\u2019s something wrong with our understanding of the Universe and, as the James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> (JWST) has confirmed, it doesn\u2019t seem to be an observational error.\u00a0<\/p>

One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is the \u2018Hubble tension\u2019, the puzzle that the expansion of the Universe<\/a> we see today doesn\u2019t match what we think it should <\/em>be from looking at the early cosmos.<\/p>

Using observations of the earliest Universe and applying our understanding of how space behaves, astronomers can calculate the value of expansion we expect to find in modern times.\u00a0<\/p>

Illustration of the expansion of the Universe. Understanding more about this phenomenon could reveal clues as to how the Universe will end. Credit: Mark Garlick \/ Science Photo Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>

They can also directly measure the current expansion using \u2018standard candles\u2019, objects whose known intrinsic brightness allows us to calculate their distance.<\/p>

However, when the expansion values of the early and late Universe are compared, the two are found to be stubbornly different.\u00a0<\/p>

It was thought that an observational error could be skewing the results.<\/p>

The Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> has spent 30 years observing standard candles, but the telescope\u2019s resolution means nearby stars often overlap in observations, while cosmic dust confuses the results.<\/p>

JWST\u2019s infrared<\/a> eyes see through this dust and its higher resolution means the candles are much clearer.<\/p>

A previous JWST study in 2023 confirmed that Hubble\u2019s measurements of standard candles known as Type Ia supernovae were correct.<\/p>

\"Image
Image of galaxy NGC 5468, 130 million lightyears from Earth, combining data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. It’s the farthest galaxy in which Hubble identified Cepheid variable stars, markers for measuring the expansion rate of the universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam G. Riess (JHU, STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Now this new study has verified the results that Hubble got using Cepheid variable stars (such as those in NGC 5468, above), standard candles used to take measurements closer to Earth.<\/p>

“We\u2019ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble tension with very high confidence,” says Adam Riess from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who led the study.\u00a0<\/p>

“What remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the Universe. We need to find out if we are missing something on how to connect the beginning of the Universe and the present day.”<\/p>

\"These
These 36 galaxies imaged by Hubble play host to both Cepheid variables and supernovae used to measure the Universe\u2019s expansion. Credit: NASA, ESA, Adam G. Riess (STScI, JHU)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Why the Hubble tension is so important<\/strong><\/h2>

The Hubble tension, far from causing headaches, is exciting.<\/p>

A disagreement about something as fundamental as the speed of expansion provides a hope that some big breakthrough to solve it is round the corner.<\/p>

Maybe it is. But the fact that we call it a \u2018tension\u2019 \u2013 not argument, enormous problem or embarrassment \u2013 reflects that comparing local measurements with the early Universe is hard.<\/p>

History shows that astronomers measuring the expansion have typically been overconfident. If that\u2019s happening again, there may be no tension at all.<\/p>

Until someone finds an error with our errors, though, we can go on dreaming of new physics.<\/p>

This article appeared in the May 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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