The universe's expansion is still accelerating, according to a major new analysis that pushes back against recent claims suggesting it had begun to slow.
The study found that evidence for cosmic acceleration remains robust. Previous reports suggested dark energy might be weakening, but the new analysis identified methodological flaws and concluded the data clearly supports continued acceleration.
In 2024, the DESI team reported hints that dark energy might be evolving. The new analysis suggests those hints were likely statistical noise. Dark energy appears to be doing exactly what the cosmological constant model predicts.
If expansion continues to accelerate, the universe will eventually become a cold, dark, increasingly empty place — a scenario cosmologists call the "Big Freeze."
