Mondo Knows Facts

The expansion of the universe is accelerating over cosmic time

Dark energy pushes distant galaxies apart at ever-increasing speeds

In 1998, observations of distant Type Ia supernovae revealed that the expansion rate of the universe is not slowing down under gravity but accelerating. Astrophysicists attribute this cosmic acceleration to dark energy, a pervasive repulsive pressure that accounts for roughly 68 percent of cosmic energy density.

Lambda-Cold Dark Matter, Accelerated Expansion of the Universe, Big Bang-Inflation
User:Coldcreation ยท CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท licence ยท source

Where this comes from

ESA

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

More facts like this

Tags: dark energy, expansion, universe

The expansion of the universe is accelerating over cosmic time: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
Dark energy pushes distant galaxies apart at ever-increasing speeds. The figure is taken from ESA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a space fact?
Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?
The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.