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POPSIs a 'Dark Force' Pushing the Universe Apart? Astronomers now recognize that the eventual fate of the universe is inextricably tied to the presence of dark energy and dark matter.The current standard model for cosmology describes a universe that is 70 percent dark energy, 25 percent dark matter, and only 5 percent normal matter.
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POPSExperimenting in a galaxy far far away While the readings confirm the laws of physics apply across the known universe, if it had been any other way, it would not only have been a surprise, but physics textbooks would have to be rewritten. Of course, the search has only just begun. The Radio Telescope is only a recent development, and much of what we know about the Universe, has been learned since the Hubble telescope became operational.
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POPSDark, Perhaps Forever - Clueless about the universe Whatever proposal is eventually selected, the dark energy satellite will return a tidal wave of data about the universe and its weird denizens, both visible and invisible. This data is likely to transform astronomy in unpredictable ways, but there is no guarantee that it will nail the mystery of dark energy. “We really need new theory, and we have none,” Dr. Krauss said.
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POPSNew Space Telescope to Explore the Unknown Perhaps most exciting is the possibility that GLAST will find something no one is expecting. This space telescope can peer a range of high-energy gamma rays that is virtually unexplored. "There's such a leap forward in capabilities with GLAST that we have a really good chance of discovering things not even on the list yet," Ritz said. The mission is scheduled for liftoff atop a Delta 2 rocket at 11:45 a.m. EDT on June 7.
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POPSWorldwide Telescope: seeing into space is just a download away...
"The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a Web 2.0 visualization software environment that enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope—bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe. Choose from a growing number of guided tours of the sky by astronomers and educators from some of the most famous observatories and planetariums in the country. Feel free at any time to pause the tour, explore on your own (with multiple information sources for objects at your fingertips), and rejoin the tour where you left off. Join Harvard Astronomer Alyssa Goodman on a journey showing how dust in the Milky Way Galaxy condenses into stars and planets. Take a tour with University of Chicago Cosmologist Mike Gladders two billion years into the past to see a gravitational lens bending the light from galaxies allowing you to see billions more years into the past."
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