The universe is expanding faster than it used to, meaning it's about a billion years younger than we thought, a new study by a Nobel Prize winner says.
At issue is a number called the Hubble constant, a calculation for how fast the universe is expanding. Some scientists call it the most important number in cosmology, the study of the origin and development of the universe.
Using NASAS Hubble Space Telescope, lohns Hopkings University astronomer Adam Riess concluded in this week's Astrophysical Journal that the figure is 9% higher than the previous calculation, which was based on studying leftovers from the Big Bang.
The trouble is, Riess and others think both calculations are correct. Confused? That's OK, so are the experts. They find the conflict so confusing that they are talking about coming up with "new physics", incorporating (合作) perhaps some yet-to-be-discovered particle or other cosmic (宇宙) "fudge factors" like dark energy or dark matter
"Its looking more and more like were going to need something new to explain this," said Reiss, who won the 2011 Nobel in physics.
NASA astrophysicist John Mather, another Nobel winner, said this leaves two obvious options, "1. We're making mistakes we can't find yet. 2. Nature has something we can't find yet."
Even with the discovery, life continues on Earth the way it always has. But to astrophysicists trying to get a handle on our place in this expanding universe, this is a cosmic concern. In fact, the universe is really mystical (神秘的). Scientists have done lots of study about it but there is still much they haven't discovered.
