{"id":16042,"date":"2015-08-11T08:05:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T15:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/?p=16042"},"modified":"2017-06-04T11:49:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T18:49:19","slug":"slow-death-of-universe-confirmed-with-precision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/slow-death-of-universe-confirmed-with-precision","title":{"rendered":"Slow death of Universe confirmed with precision"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"el__storyhighlights__list\">\n<li class=\"el__storyhighlights__item el__storyhighlights--normal\">The universe radiates only half as much energy as 2 billion years ago<\/li>\n<li class=\"el__storyhighlights__item el__storyhighlights--normal\">New findings establish cosmos\u2019 decline with unprecedented precision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2015\/08\/10\/us\/universe-dying\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><br \/> From CNN<\/strong><\/a>\u2014The universe came in with the biggest bang ever. But now, with a drooping fizzle, it is in its swan song. The conclusion of a new astronomical study pulls no punches on this: \u201cThe Universe is slowly dying,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Astronomers have believed as much for years, but the new findings establish the cosmos\u2019 decline<em> with unprecedented precision<\/em>. An international team of 100 scientists used data from the world\u2019s most powerful telescopes \u2014 based on land and in space \u2014 to study energy coming from more than 200,000 galaxies in a large sliver of the observable universe. <sub>[Full story below or at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2015\/08\/10\/us\/universe-dying\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"><a href=\"http:\/\/CNN.com\">CNN.com<\/a><\/a>]\u2026<\/sub><\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Based on those observations, they have confirmed the cosmos is radiating only half as much energy as it was 2 billion years ago. The astronomers published their study on Monday on the website of<a href=\"http:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/\" target=\"_blank\"> the European Southern Observatory.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">The team checked the energy across a broad spectrum of lightwaves and other electromagnetic radiation and says it is fading through all wavelengths, from ultraviolet to far infrared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Analysis across many wavelengths shows the universe\u2019s electromagnetic energy output is dropping.<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018A cold, dark and desolate place\u2019<\/h3>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">At the ripe old age of <a href=\"http:\/\/map.gsfc.nasa.gov\/universe\/uni_age.html\" target=\"_blank\">nearly 13.8 billion years<\/a>, the universe has arrived in its sunset years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cThe universe has basically sat down on the sofa, pulled up a blanket and is about to nod off for an eternal doze,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.icrar.org\/education\/the-people-behind-the-science\/simon-driver-astronomer\" target=\"_blank\">astronomer Simon Driver<\/a>, who led the team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Death does not mean the universe will go away. It will still be there, but its stars and all else that produces light and stellar fire will fizzle out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cIt will just grow old forever, slowly converting less and less mass into energy as billions of years pass by until eventually, it will become a cold, dark and desolate place, where all of the lights go out,\u201d said astronomer Luke Davies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">But don\u2019t cry for the universe anytime soon. Astrophysicists say this will take trillions of years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard el__embedded--open\">\n<div class=\"js__gallery--standard js__leafmedia--gallery el__gallery--expandfull\">\n<div class=\"el-carousel__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"js-owl-carousel owl-carousel carousel--full body owl-loaded owl-drag\">\n<div class=\"owl-stage-outer owl-height\">\n<div class=\"owl-stage\">\n<div class=\"owl-item active\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"el__resize\">\n<div class=\"el__position media js-gallery-aspect-ratio-wrapper\">\n<figure style=\"width: 980px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive media__image--cut-format owl-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/slow-death-of-universe-confirmed-with-precision2.jpg\" alt=\"This map shows the light from 380,000 years after the Big Bang in our universe, called the cosmic microwave background, detected by the Planck mission with the greatest precision yet. \" width=\"980\" height=\"552\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">First light \u2013 380,000 years after the Big Bang, this light is the cosmic microwave <br \/> background. It was detected by the Planck mission with the greatest precision yet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"img__preloader\" style=\"text-align: center\"><sup>[See all 6 photos in the series above in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2015\/08\/10\/us\/universe-dying\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">original article<\/a>]<\/sup><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"js-media__caption media__caption el__storyelement__title\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Bursting with energy<\/h3>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Go all the way back to its birth, and you find a vast contrast. In an infinitesimal fraction of a second, our entire cosmos <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2013\/03\/21\/tech\/innovation\/universe-planck-map\/\">blasted into existence in the Big Bang.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">And the totality of the energy and mass in the universe originates from that moment, astronomers say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Since that natal explosion, the cosmos has generated other sources of brilliant radiation \u2014 most notably stars \u2014 by converting some of the mass into energy when extreme gravity causes matter to burst into nuclear fusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">But the universe is speckled by radiance from seething gas clouds, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/02\/19\/tech\/innovation\/supernova-explosion-science\/index.html\">supernovas<\/a> and, most spectacularly, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2013\/03\/16\/us\/quasar-discovery-50-years\/index.html\">discs of hot matter that rotate around black holes to form quasars,<\/a> which can be as bright as whole galaxies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cWhile most of the energy sloshing around in the universe arose in the aftermath of the Big Bang, additional energy is constantly being generated by stars as they fuse elements like hydrogen and helium together,\u201d Driver said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard\">\n<div class=\"el__gallery--standard js__gallery--standard js__leafmedia--gallery\">\n<div class=\"el__gallery--teaseimage\">\n<div class=\"el__resize\">\n<div class=\"el__position media js-gallery-aspect-ratio-wrapper\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive media__image--cut-format\" src=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/slow-death-of-universe-confirmed-with-precision3.jpg\" alt=\"Some of the most breathtaking images in the night sky come from quasars. This artist's rendering displays the quasar's luminance, which is brighter than a billion suns. The beam is matter being shot into space.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Fizzling into space<\/h3>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">The size and number of those sources of radiation so boggle the mind that it might be hard to imagine that the entirety of that vividness appears to be fading, as its energy flies off through space.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cThis new energy is either absorbed by dust as it travels through the host galaxy, or escapes into intergalactic space and travels until it hits something, such as another star, a planet, or, very occasionally, a telescope mirror,\u201d Driver said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">His team observed it from seven of the world\u2019s mammoth telescopes spread out between Australia, the United States, Chile and Earth\u2019s orbit. Many of the instruments specialize in receiving certain wavelengths of light and other electromagnetic waves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Compiling the data from the collective wavelengths gives the scientists a more complete picture from across a broad spectrum of energy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Their findings on the universe\u2019s energy slump were part of the larger <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gama-survey.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy And Mass Assembly<\/a>, or GAMA, project to study how galaxies are formed. It has mapped out the position of 4 million galaxies so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The universe radiates only half as much energy as 2 billion years ago New findings establish cosmos\u2019 decline with unprecedented precision From CNN\u2014The universe came in with the biggest bang ever. But now, with a drooping fizzle, it is in its swan song. The conclusion of a new astronomical study pulls no punches on this: [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1545,33,1807,219,8],"tags":[2053,1877,2052,2054,2056,2055,266],"class_list":["post-16042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-cosmology","category-gravity","category-physics","category-space","tag-background-radiation","tag-big-bang","tag-black-hole","tag-death-of-universe","tag-galaxy-and-mass-assembly","tag-simon-driver","tag-universe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16042"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64471,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16042\/revisions\/64471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}