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First map of 'adolescent' universe

Hubble eXtreme Deep Field or XDF

The new study supports the theory that dark energy was somehow created as the universe expanded (Source: NASA, ESA, University of California Santa Cruz, Leiden University and the HUDF09 Team)




"Only now are we finally seeing its adolescence ... just before it underwent a growth spurt," says Mat Pieri of the University of Portsmouth, one of the authors of the study.



"If we think of the universe as a roller coaster, then today we are rushing downhill, gaining speed as we go," says Pieri. "Our new measurement tells us about the time when the universe was climbing the hill - still being slowed by gravity."

Seeing through the fog



"The quasars are back-lights," says Pieri, and the way the gas in front of them absorbs some of the light allows astronomers to get a detailed picture of these distant clouds of gas known as the intergalactic medium.


"We're essentially measuring the shadows cast by gas along a series of lines, each billions of light-years long," says Will Percival, a cosmology professor the University of Portsmouth.

"The tricky part is combining all those one-dimensional maps. The problem is like trying to recognise an object from a picture that's been painted on the quills of a porcupine," he says.

Tags: astronomy-space, the-universe