“The fluctuations in the current universe seem to be slightly smaller than we might predict from our standard cosmological model attached to the early universe,” said study co-author Eric Baxter. “The high accuracy and robustness of the sources of error in the new results are particularly strong evidence that we are starting to find gaps in our standard cosmological model.”
The Dark Energy Reconnaissance program has yet to analyze three years of data, and a new look at the cosmic microwave background is currently being taken by the South Pole Telescope. With new, precise data, researchers will be able to put the standard cosmological model to the tough test.
Dark matter is something we cannot directly observe in the universe. We know it’s there because of gravity, but we can’t see it. According to CERN, dark matter makes up about 27% of the universe, and 68% is dark energy, which is evenly distributed throughout the universe and is responsible for its accelerating expansion.
Source: Ferra
