Sign in Subscribe
College faculty

Universe's Lifespan Calculated to be Around 20 Billion Years

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The universe is currently expanding at a rapid pace, but new data from dark-energy observatories suggest that it will reach its midpoint in about 10 billion years and begin to contract, eventually collapsing back into a single point. According to Henry Tye, a Cornell physicist, this conclusion is based on a model involving the cosmological constant, a factor introduced by Albert Einstein over a century ago to predict the future of the universe. The new data indicate that the cosmological constant is negative, meaning the universe will end in a big crunch, rather than continuing to expand forever.

Key Takeaways:

  • The universe is estimated to be around 20 billion years old and is currently expanding.
  • The new data from dark-energy observatories suggest that the universe will reach its midpoint in about 10 billion years and begin to contract.
  • The cosmological constant, a factor introduced by Albert Einstein, was initially thought to be positive, but new data indicate it is negative, leading to a big crunch scenario.
  • The universe will end in a big crunch, collapsing back into a single point, according to Henry Tye's calculations.
  • The DES and DESI observatories have reported data that are in good accord, suggesting dark energy is not just a cosmological constant.
  • A hypothetical particle of very low mass, proposed by Tye and his collaborators, could be responsible for the dark energy.
  • Hundreds of scientists are observing millions of galaxies and gathering data to refine the model.
  • The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Euclid space telescope are among the forthcoming observatories that will contribute to the study of dark energy.

Statistics:

  • The universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old (Source: [1]).
  • The universe is expanding at a rate that will lead to it reaching its midpoint in about 11 billion years (Source: []).
  • The cosmological constant was initially thought to be positive, while new data indicate it is negative (Source: []).
  • The big crunch will occur about 20 billion years from now, according to Tye's calculations (Source: [2]).
  • 68% of the mass and energy in the universe comes from dark energy (Source: []).
  • Hundreds of scientists are observing millions of galaxies and gathering data to refine the model (Source: []).
  • The DESI will continue observations for another year, while the Zwicky Transient Facility will begin observations soon (Source: []).
  • The SPHEREx mission, launched by NASA, will also contribute to the study of dark energy (Source: []).
  • The Euclid space telescope and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will start observations in the near future (Source: []).

Sources:

  • [1] Cornell University, "The universe is approaching the midpoint of its 33-billion-year lifespan, a Cornell physicist calculates with new data from dark-energy observatories."
  • [2] Henry Tye, "The Lifespan of our Universe," Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Sept. 18.
  • [] The Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).
  • [] Cornell University.

Read more