"RazroRog" wrote in message
...

"Robert Karl Stonjek" wrote in message
...

"The fact that the Universe is speeding up might be the biggest
mystery
in all of science," says Michael Turner of the University of
Chicago.

In the article you referenced it states: "In 1998, observations of
exploding
stars showed that the Universe is expanding at an ever-increasing
rate."
This article is based on the abstract at
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/0306438. That abstarct begins by
stating:

"That the expansion of the Universe is currently undergoing a period
of
acceleration now seems inescapable: it is directly measured from the
light-curves of several hundred type Ia supernovae, and independently
inferred from observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by
the
WMAP satellite and other CMB experiments."

I'd be curious to know how these observations could lead to "the fact"
that
the expansion is "speeding up". It's difficult enough to quantitivly
determine the rate expansion itself let alone a change in that rate.
I'm a
bit sceptical that we really can infer that the rate of expansion is
increasing from those supernova observations and CMB experiments.
Calling it
a "fact" is going overboard.

raz

RKS:
It is my understanding that the accelerating expansion is generally
accepted.

As you say, "facts" on the large scale are tentative at best. But I
wonder....if the observations went the other way would cosmologists be
so cautious? After all, they expected the expansion of the universe to
be slowing - would we be speculating that the slowing observed is only a
slow period in an over all acceleration?

I think not. I think that evidence that supports current theories is
grasped all to readily and data that runs contrary is seen as
potentially flawed or transient or can be minimised in some other way.
How can science call itself objective if such biases exist? Why is
there no parallel non-big bang theory to contrast the big bang against?

If we made no wild assumptions, then the universe could be said to
appear to be expanding, but that's it. Assuming a big bang is a huge
leap of faith, as is imagining that their is a heaven just above the
clouds but slightly further than you can see (like super-strings) or
that lepricorns are real, but are not usually seen because they are just
very clever (like dark matter)

--
Kind Regards,
Robert Karl Stonjek.