Scientists say that the Universe is losing its brightness as stars die out. 'Sliding into old age', the Universe will lose its twinkle in the future, as predicted by scientists. Even if it seems seem vast and never ending, our Universe is slowly dying, scientists have concluded.
A new study reuniting an international team of astronomers has analyzed the light coming from the stars in 200,000 galaxies. The astronomers discovered that the present energy radiated by the stars is only half what it was two billion years ago.
This new research shows that the Universe is getting darker. The oldest cubes of space measured were around half a billion years old. The research found that they glowed with the luminosity of about 19 million suns, while those that were just half a billion years old are as bright as only 11 million suns.
However, there is no reason to worry. According to Will Sutherland, an astronomer at Queen Mary, University of London, "the universe is not going to go black anytime soon." But the conclusion of the research is that the Universe is slowly fading, resulting more and more red stars that shine less.
Scientists involved in the study were using the world's most powerful telescopes in order to take a look at 21 different wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to infrared. They were able to measure the total energy output of galaxies.
According to Simon Driver, one of the astronomers who participated in the research, most of the energy still around in the Universe was released in the aftermath of the Big Bang. Some additional energy is being generated constantly "by stars as they fuse elements like hydrogen and helium together," Driver explained. The new energy escapes into intergalactic space or is absorbed by dust.
The fact that the Universe is slowly fading comes of no surprise for astronomers. This has been known since the late 1990s. However, the new study that is the most wide-ranging energy output assessment ever undertaken came to show that this fading is happening across all wavelengths.
The research team presenting the conclusions of their study in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the International Astronomical Union XXIX General Assembly, on Monday, August 10, 2015.
