For the first time, scientists have combined four different methods to study dark energy in the universe. This groundbreaking work was made possible with images from the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera. With this camera, the Dark Energy Survey Collaboration took a comprehensive look at how dark energy affects our cosmos.
Over six years, this collaboration gathered data from 669 million galaxies, all billions of light-years away. They covered about one-eighth of the entire night sky, capturing this information during 760 nights from 2013 to 2019. Now, they have unveiled results that give a clearer picture of the universe’s expansion history.
The study used various techniques, like weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering, to measure how the universe is stretching out. Yuanyuan Zhang, an assistant astronomer at NSF NOIRLab, expressed excitement about the results. “This was something I would have only dared to dream about when we started collecting data,” he said.
Regina Rameika, an Associate Director at the DOE, emphasized the importance of combining long-term research efforts. This collaboration has helped narrow down the possible models explaining the universe’s expansion, providing new insights into its mysteries.
Dark energy, which constitutes about 70% of the universe, cannot be seen directly. We only notice its effects, like galaxies moving away from us. The first signs of this phenomenon appeared over a century ago, when astronomers discovered that distant galaxies were receding faster the farther they are from Earth. This was the first evidence of an expanding universe.
In 1998, two independent teams showed that this expansion is accelerating, suggesting the presence of some unknown force driving it—now known as dark energy. Scientists believe this mystery force affects the universe’s fate, and the latest Dark Energy Survey provides valuable data to better understand it.
Astrophysicists are using methods like weak lensing to analyze the distribution of matter over billions of years. NOIRLab explains that by examining how light from distant galaxies gets distorted by gravity from closer objects, scientists can infer the presence and amount of dark energy at different times in history.
While these findings largely support the standard model of cosmology, some aspects still don’t completely add up. The researchers acknowledge there’s more work ahead, especially with the upcoming NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. This new observatory features the world’s largest camera and aims to catalog around 20 billion galaxies in the southern hemisphere’s night sky. Its data will further refine our understanding of dark energy and the universe’s history.
Chris Davis, a Program Director at NSF, aptly stated, “DES has been transformative, and Rubin will take us even further.” The future looks promising for uncovering the secrets of dark energy and the vast universe that surrounds us.
For deeper insights, you can read more about their findings in a detailed research paper [here](https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.14559) by the DES Collaboration.
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