Our universe might not be expanding at the same speed in all directions, according to new research released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) observatories.
Researchers found that the exclusive components of the universe are indeed expanding at different rates, with clusters of galaxies in extraordinary parts of the sky behaving differently.
The research is published in the latest issue of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and can be seen online.
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Did we misinterpret the Big Bang Theory?
The general information of the universe shows that the universe started to expand in all directions during the Big Bang, with galaxies and galaxy clusters moving apart at the identical fee throughout the cosmos.
However, the new study shows that won't be the case, with that rate only varying depending on where the people would look.
In a statement, study co-author Gerrit Schellenberger from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said their study might contradict one of the most primary underlying assumptions everyone is using in cosmology today.
Researchers have long attempted to discover a definitive answer to whether the universe is the same in all directions. They have tried to estimate the speed and directions using quite a few unique methods, including looking at galaxies through infrared and looking exploded stars, but not anything has confirmed decisive, and the outcomes have given indications each way.
It isn't the first time that researchers have determined evidence of the uneven growth of the universe, but can be the only study that suggests it more convincingly than any other.
"This [study has] a hugely fascinating result," stated Norbert Schartel, a project scientist on ESA's XMM-Newton observatory, which helped contribute closer to the discovery.
According to Schartel, previous studies have counseled that the present universe might not be expanding lightly in all directions. He noted this result - the first time such a test has been performed with galaxy clusters in X-rays - has a much greater significance. Schartel added the research also reveals a great potential for future investigations.
Few galaxies are pulled away by something else
One explanation for this unusual discovery is that the universe's enlargement can be similar but that a few galaxies are being pulled away by something else, along with the gravity of other galaxy clusters. But this can be unlikely for the reason that scientists count on the universe's expansion to be the principal deciding factor of that velocity.
If that isn't the case, the studies indicate that the universe isn't always without a doubt isotropic and that it's far exclusive in special directions. Dark electricity, for instance, maybe dispensed differently at some point in the universe and can be causing uncommon effects.
Researchers have defined the growth of the universe is like a loaf of raisin bread that has been placed in the oven: because it cooks, it expands, and the raisins that represent the galaxies move faraway from every different. If the bread is evenly mixed, the expansion could be uniform, but the state-of-the-art consequences advise that there may be an overlooked ingredient within the dough.
"This could be like if the yeast within the bread is not evenly mixed, causing it to amplify quicker in some places than in others," stated co-writer Thomas Reiprich, additionally of the University of Bonn. "It might be amazing if dark power were discovered to have one of a kind strengths in distinct elements of the universe. However, much more proof could be had to rule out other motives and make a convincing case."
