Dark Energy: The Force Accelerating Expansion

Dark energy is a mysterious force causing the universe’s expansion to speed up.
It makes up about 68% of the total energy content of the cosmos.
In 1998, supernova studies revealed the shocking discovery of accelerating expansion.
Dark energy works against gravity, pushing galaxies farther apart.
Its exact nature is unknown—possibilities include a “cosmological constant” or dynamic fields.
The discovery earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for three astrophysicists.
Dark energy influences the universe’s ultimate fate: endless expansion, slowdown, or a “Big Rip.”
Large surveys of galaxies and the cosmic microwave background map its effects.
Unlike dark matter, dark energy does not clump—it acts smoothly across space.
Understanding dark energy may require new physics beyond Einstein’s theories.