New research findings from the James Webb Space Telescope by NASA have confirmed a surprising discovery, revealing that the universe is expanding 8% faster than previously estimated by scientists.
This has raised a significant question within the astronomical community: Are there unknown factors affecting this rate of expansion, particularly mysterious elements like dark matter and dark energy?
The James Webb Space Telescope discovered 5 giant star clusters that existed since the early universe, providing opportunities for scientists to better understand how galaxies form. (Photo credit: ESA/TTXVN).
The James Webb Space Telescope—the most powerful space research tool ever created by humanity—has provided accurate data to confirm previous findings from the Hubble Space Telescope regarding the expansion rate of the universe, known as “Hubble Tension.” This result has debunked the hypothesis that Hubble’s data could be skewed due to technical issues. This represents a significant advancement, reinforcing the suspicion of something unexplored in cosmological theory.
According to research results published on December 9 in the Astrophysical Journal, the current expansion rate of the universe is about 8% faster than what scientists calculated based on their current understanding of the universe’s initial conditions and its development over billions of years. Scientist Adam Riess—one of the lead authors of the study and the 2011 Nobel Prize winner in Physics—assesses the findings indicate humanity’s limited understanding of the universe.
Riess emphasized: “We cannot explain why the universe is expanding so rapidly. Currently, our understanding of the universe contains many ‘blind spots’ related to dark matter and dark energy—two factors that make up about 96% of the universe. This is an extremely important issue that we need to address.“
Dark matter is believed to account for approximately 27% of the universe. Though invisible and unobservable directly, scientists can identify its existence through its gravitational effects on ordinary matter, such as stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. Dark energy, which constitutes about 69% of the universe, is a mysterious form of energy thought to be driving the accelerated expansion of the universe, counteracting gravitational forces.
A significant question remains unanswered: Are there undiscovered factors within dark matter and dark energy influencing this expansion rate? Or could it be a strange gravitational phenomenon or an undetected element in scientific theories?
The new study by a team of astronomers at Johns Hopkins University (USA) employed three different measurement methods to determine the distance from Earth to distant galaxies, where they discovered flickering stars known as Cepheids. The results from both the James Webb and Hubble telescopes are consistent, reinforcing the notion that the universe is indeed expanding at a faster rate than traditional theories can explain.
When calculating the expansion rate of the universe, scientists use a figure known as the “Hubble Constant.” According to standard cosmological theory, this figure should range from 67 to 68 km/s/Mpc (kilometers per second per megaparsec). However, data from both Hubble and James Webb indicate this figure reaches approximately 73 km/s/Mpc, with a variation from 70 to 76 km/s/Mpc.
Riess argues that to gain a deeper understanding of this issue, scientists need to collect more data to analyze the level of discrepancy.
Despite many unresolved questions, researchers believe it is crucial to continue studying and gathering additional data to explain this phenomenon. The final answer may change humanity’s understanding of the universe and the mysterious factors governing its existence.
