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Universe to go dark after 5 to 10 billion years: Researchers
New York, Aug 17: Universe will be a pretty dark place after five to ten billion years as lights would go off from it, researchers say.
New York, Aug 17: Universe will be a pretty dark place after five to ten billion years as lights would go off from it, researchers say.
The universe is already showing signs of aging with star formation 30 times slower than it was during the stellar baby boom around six billion years ago when sun was created, a team of star researchers at University of Edinburgh has found.
"The universe is getting dimmer and dimmer and star numbers are falling," Alam Heavens, who led the team, was quoted as saying by a science magazine. "Within 5 or 10 billion years the universe will be a pretty dark place," says Heavens. "But you probably won't start to notice the difference for a billion years."
The finding, says the journal, does not startle professional astronomers as physics predicts such a slowdown.
"Every time you make a star, you deplete the material left behind to form more," says star researcher Martin Barstow of the University of Leicester in England. But previous studies underestimated the star slump - they drew on bright, easy-to-spot galaxies, and brightness is a sign of star formation. The new work is the best measure so far, says Barstow, because it includes dim galaxies. Bureau Report
"The universe is getting dimmer and dimmer and star numbers are falling," Alam Heavens, who led the team, was quoted as saying by a science magazine. "Within 5 or 10 billion years the universe will be a pretty dark place," says Heavens. "But you probably won't start to notice the difference for a billion years."
The finding, says the journal, does not startle professional astronomers as physics predicts such a slowdown.
"Every time you make a star, you deplete the material left behind to form more," says star researcher Martin Barstow of the University of Leicester in England. But previous studies underestimated the star slump - they drew on bright, easy-to-spot galaxies, and brightness is a sign of star formation. The new work is the best measure so far, says Barstow, because it includes dim galaxies. Bureau Report