Our Universe is Dying: Stars are Fading Away Over Time

The universe is slowly dying as stars wink out over time. After studying more than 200,000 galaxies, researchers have confirmed that the energy produced in a section of the universe today is only about a half of what it was two billion years ago.

"We used as many space and ground-based telescopes as we could get our hands on to measure the energy output of over 200,000 galaxies across as broad a wavelength range as possible," said Simon Driver, who heads the large GAMA team, in a news release. "While 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."

Stars shine by converting mass back into energy. In this latest study, the researchers decided to map and model all of the energy generated within a large volume of space today and at different times in the past.

Scientists have known that the universe is slowly dying out since the late 1990s. This latest work, though, shows that it is happening across all wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared. This means that this latest study represents the most comprehensive assessment of the energy output of the nearby universe.

"The universe will decline from here on in, sliding gently into old age," said Driver. "The universe has basically sate down on the sofa, pulled up a blanket and is about to nod off for an eternal doze."

The researchers actually hope to expand their work to map energy production over the entire history of the universe, using a swathe of new facilities, including the world's largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometer Array, which is due to be built over the next 10 years.

The findings are published online.

Related Stories

Baby Galaxy Spotted Still Connected to Cosmic Web

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).