An Important Force of the Universe Appears to Be Changing, Scientists Find

Dark energy, the mysterious force that makes up 70 percent of everything in existence, was hypothesized to explain why the expansion of the universe was accelerating. Ever since, it's been thought of as a constant, immutable presence. Now, the latest observations from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) indicate that dark energy has actually changed over time — a development that could potentially upend the prevailing cosmological model, and perhaps hint at a new understanding of physics. The findings, detailed in a series of papers currently awaiting peer review, have implications not only for how the universe has evolved, but what its eventual fate might be as well. "It sounds like it will be a paradigm shift, something that will change our understanding and the way we are putting all the pieces together," Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, a cosmologist at the University of Texas and DESI team member, told Quanta Magazine of the findings. The DESI telescope, located in Kitt Pea ... Read full article.