The fate of the universe may be answered this afternoon.At 2 p.m., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will reveal data collected by a recent satellite research balloon sent into space last year, likely proving that the universe is infinitely expanding.
At the conference, NASA is scheduled to release the scientific data compiled by a Microwave Anisotropy Probe launched last year to measure the fluctuation spectrum of radiation in the universe.
Current astronomical theory postulates that the universe began in a great flash of light. The origins of this light led to variations in the perfect smoothness of the universe -- a lumpiness that may have given rise to galaxies and other space phenomena.
MAP's job was to image the cosmic microwave background radiation, the radiant heat left over from the Big Bang. The satellite measured these small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation and in turn probed the early stages of structure formation. By viewing the light scattered from ionized gas, MAP can more accurately deduce the epoch at which the first structures formed in the universe.
By measuring the fluctuation spectrum of radiation, scientists can determine whether the universe will expand forever, and confirm the existence of so-called dark-energy, a theoretical energy that exists in a vacuum and has an anti-gravitational effect. MAP may also be able to help shed light on the shape of the universe, and even put a time frame around when galaxies were formed.
"The results will essentially tell us the future fate of the universe," Physics and Astronomy professor Thorstensen said.
Thorstensen will be holding a public viewing of the conference in 104 Wilder Hall.
The results will help determine the density of the universe, which would help scientists deduce whether the universe will continue to expand forever. If the density of the universe reaches critical density, which is the dividing line between an expanding universe and a collapsing universe, scientists will be able to confirm that the universe will continue to expand forever.
Thorstensen predicts that this is exactly announcement that NASA will make in today's conference.
"I suspect they will announce that they have found the density of the universe to be exactly at critical density, and that the universe is going to be expanding forever," Thorstensen said.
However, the means through which the scientists will present the new data and information will be far from self-explanatory, according to Thorstensen.
"Basically, they're going to show a wiggly line and explain how and why the line is wiggly," he said.
