Cosmic Expansion
Cosmic expansion is the phenomenon where the universe is steadily growing larger, with galaxies moving farther apart over time, as first observed through the redshift of light. This process, a cornerstone of modern cosmology, implies that space itself is stretching and accelerating due to mysterious forces like dark energy, reshaping our understanding of the universe's fate from a potential Big Crunch to an endless void.
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In 1998, scientists discovered that cosmic expansion is speeding up rather than slowing down, thanks to observations of distant supernovae, which revealed the influence of dark energy making up about 68% of the universe. This unexpected acceleration earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics and suggests that most galaxies will eventually vanish from our view, leaving the cosmos eerily empty.
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