According to cosmologists, approximately 10 -36 seconds after the Big Bang, the universe underwent ‘inflation’ – a period (barely a fraction of a second) in which the universe rapidly expanded, growing from a singularity to the massive collection of galaxies we see today (Kavli Institute, 2020). In order to understand how this is possible, we must travel back to the early stages of the universe. Now, a team of astronomers and cosmologists have proposed that Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), black holes formed in the early universe, may compose the majority of Dark Matter. However, while scientists know Dark Matter must exist, it remains mostly a mystery. Roughly 27% of the universe is composed of Dark Matter: an elusive type of matter hypothesized to be made from different types of subatomic particles than visible matter ( Dark Energy, Dark Matter, 2021). What could be responsible for this unexpected acceleration? Currently, scientists believe the acceleration is due to Dark Energy and Dark Matter – names given to undiscovered energy and matter that must be present to align scientific observations with the known laws of physics. Then, in 1998, scientists made a startling discovery: the expansion was not slowing, it was accelerating. Scientists believed that over time, gravity would begin to pull all this matter together, slowing the outward expansion. Source: Wikimedia Commonsįourteen billion years ago, the Big Bang caused the universe to begin rapidly expanding, forming galaxies like the Milky Way as it cooled and settled. Maddie Brown, Physical Sciences, Winter 2021įigure 1: The first picture of a blackhole. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Email
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