Dark Energy

An explosion in space
Dark energy is the mysterious force that causes the expansion of the universe. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Dark energy is the name given to a mysterious force accelerating the universe's expansion. NASA estimates that dark energy makes up 68% of the universe, but while physicists can tell dark energy is real, they don't know much about it. 

discover more

—Is there more than one dark energy?

—Did a dark energy discovery prove Einstein wrong?

At Live Science, our expert writers and editors explain the latest findings from researchers studying this strange force. Whether it’s  why dark energy could lead to a second (and third, and fourth) Big Bang, how the largest dark energy map could reveal the fate of the universe or if the expansion of the universe could be a mirage, you’ll find  the latest dark energy news, features and articles right here.  

Latest about Dark Energy

A blue nebula looks like an eye in this NASA image

The expansion of the universe could be a mirage, new theoretical study suggests

By Robert Lea published

New research looking at the cosmological constant problem suggests the expansion of the universe could be an illusion.

Dark Energy
A Hubble telescope image showing many bright white stars surrounded by larger orange stars on a canvas of black space

Dark energy could lead to a second (and third, and fourth) Big Bang, new research suggests

By Paul Sutter published

Scientists have proposed a way that the universe could stop expanding, ending in a 'Big Crunch' that resets space and time as we know it.

Dark Energy
Artist depiction of a supernova explosion in space.

What Is dark energy?

By Adam Mann last updated

Dark energy is the name physicists have given to the mysterious thing driving the universe's accelerated expansion. It may be a force or a form of energy, and one piece of evidence suggests it is hidden inside black holes.

Dark Energy
Star trails are seen over the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope on Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.

Largest dark energy map could reveal the fate of the universe

By Tom Metcalfe published

A telescope in Arizona modified to measure the true distance of galaxies has produced the largest three-dimensional map of the universe ever.

Dark Energy
The Dark Energy Camera imaged 10 selected areas of the sky called deep fields. The multiple images of each provided astronomers with a glimpse of distant galaxies and how they are distributed throughout the universe.

Did a dark energy discovery just prove Einstein wrong? Not quite.

By Paul Sutter published

The Dark Energy Survey just released its most comprehensive results. But did they really prove Einstein wrong?

Dark Energy
magellanic cloud

Dark energy camera takes hyper-detailed images of nearby dwarf galaxies

By Kasandra Brabaw published

New, stunningly detailed images of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the stars making up these two dwarf galaxies.

Dark Energy
This graphic shows a map of the universe's expansion rates in different directions, estimated in a new study by Konstantinos Migkas and collaborators. The map is in galactic coordinates, with the center looking toward the center of our galaxy. The black and purple colors show the directions of the lowest expansion rates (the Hubble constant); yellow and red show the directions of the highest expansion rates.

Is there more than one dark energy?

By Paul Sutter published

What if there is more than one cosmological agent for dark energy? This mixture would have strange effects in our universe, making it potentially detectable with upcoming surveys.

Dark Energy
Dark Energy Abell Cluster 100819 02

Dark Energy Is Real, Despite Claim to the Contrary

By Chelsea Gohd published

Researchers claim to have found serious fault with the existence of dark energy, but not everyone is buying into it.

Dark Energy
Each of DESI's fiber optic "eyes" can collect light from a single object, such as a part of a galaxy. The instrument then splits that light into different colors to figure out what it might be composed of and how far away that object is. This test spectrum was gathered by DESI on Oct. 22. A single fiber-optic cable (red dot) scans a region of the Triangulum galaxy and splits the light it gathers into a spectrum.

5,000 Mini-Eyes Just Blinked Open to Scan the Skies for Dark Energy

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

Astronomers recently completed the first test run of the nearly-complete Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

Dark Energy
This image from NASA shows a cloud in space (Molecular Cloud Barnard 68, to be precise) that looks a bit like a void, but isn't one. Real voids don't look like much of anything from Earth... because they aren't much of anything.

New Dark Energy Data Emerges from Misshapen, Distorted, Ancient Voids

By Rafi Letzter published

There are voids in the universe, and we can't see them properly. But the good news is that astronomers just got much better at not seeing them properly.

Dark Energy
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