The Fate of the Universe

Crunch, freeze or something stranger

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Matter decelerates expansion; dark energy accelerates it.
• Our universe will expand forever, faster and faster.
• In the far future, other galaxies vanish from view and the stars burn out.

Steps

1. A cosmic tug of war
2. Design a universe
3. The Hubble time
4. A lonelier sky
5. Doubling forever
6. The last light