Quote:
Originally Posted by The Monkey
I read that dark matter and dark energy acts as counteracting forces on the speed of the universe's expansion, which dark energy causing it to accelerate and dark matter (along with gravity), decreasing the level of acceleration. Because dark energy is more common than dark matter, the universe's expansion continues to accelerate, rather than decrease.
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That sounds about right, since we've assumed the existence of dark matter from the gravitational effects in the first place.
Krauss/Scherrer's concern for our descendants' ability to construct an accurate cosmology 100 billion years from now is laughably optimistic about the more immediate problem of our sun's approaching 'red giant' phase a mere 5 billion years from now.
Computer simulations suggest we should find another planet to hang out on before we get toasted and ultimately swallowed.
Hope dims that Earth will survive Sun's death - space - 22 February 2008 - New Scientist
Or 'we' could be taken to mean any intelligence from our intergalactic family of the merging Local Group whose descendants will be around to ponder cosmological niceties long after evidence of the rest of the universe has slipped over the event horizon.
Sagan/Shklovskii's
Intelligent Life in the Universe is a good read.