- First results from a major astronomical survey using a cutting-edge technique appear to have confirmed the existence of mysterious dark energy.
- Dark energy makes up some 74% of the Universe and its existence would explain why the Universe appears to be expanding at an accelerating rate.
- The concept of dark energy was first invoked in the late 1990s by studying the brightness of distant supernovas – exploding stars.
- “The action of dark energy is as if you threw a ball up in the air, and it kept speeding upward into the sky faster and faster,”
- While dark energy makes up about 74% of the Universe, dark matter – which does not reflect or emit detectable light – accounts for 22%. Ordinary matter – gas, stars, planets and galaxies – makes up just 4% of the cosmos.
The above was extracted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13462926