


Image: Nasa STS-103




Void Theory was met with skepticism from the beginning. Over time, more and more evidence has built up against it. The distribution of the background radiation left over from the big bang put a big dent in the theory, as did the apparent rate at which the universe appeared to be expanding. It was considered too fast to support void theory. But since the measured rate had a significant margin of error, the Void Theory struggled along. The latest study has put a bullet in its head. The Hubble Constant - the expansion rate - has been calculated with a three percent margin of error. The constant is 73.8 kilometers per second per megaparsec. A parsec is 3.26 light-years, and a megaparsec is a million parsecs. Every added 3.26 million parsecs between two objects adds 73.8 kilometers per second on to the speed at which they're receding from one another. That, apparently, is too fast for Void Theory to catch up. The universe is not avoiding the earth, and dark energy wins the day.

Via Science News, New Scientist, and Universe Today.