I really like the question this picture for today poses.
What do you think?
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2007 October 21
Illustration Credit & Copyright:Lynette Cook
Explanation:How will our universe end?Recent speculation now includes a pervasive growing field ofmysterious repulsivephantom energy that rips virtually everything apart. Although theuniverse started with aBig Bang, analysis ofcosmologicalmeasurements allows a possibility that it will end with aBig Rip. As soon as few billion years from now, the controversial scenario holds,dark energy will grow to such a magnitude that ourown Galaxy will no longer be able to hold itself together. After that,stars,planets, and then evenatoms might not be able to withstand the expansive internal force. Previously,speculation on theultimate fate of the universe centered on either a re-collapsingBig Crunch or aBig Freeze. Although theuniverse's fate is still a puzzle, piecing it together will likely follow from an increased understanding of the nature ofdark matter anddark energy.
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