accelerating universe

Cultural  

1. A phrase used to refer to the discovery that the Hubble expansion is not slowing down, as one would expect if only gravity were acting on the galaxies, but is actually speeding up as time goes by. (See dark energy.)

---

Example Sentences

The modified equations, known as the Finsler-Friedmann equations, naturally predict an accelerating universe even in empty space.

From Science Daily • Jan. 11, 2026

Almost all attempts to get a handle on this question have required physicists to artificially extricate themselves from the accelerating universe and imagine viewing it from the outside.

From Scientific American • Aug. 31, 2022

We’re in an accelerating universe where distant galaxies will disappear over a horizon, and their far future would never be in principle observable.

From Scientific American • Mar. 17, 2018

A second group came up with the same result at about the same time, and the journal Science named the accelerating universe Discovery of the Year for 1998.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Instead of making an emotional commitment to the accelerating universe," says Harvard's Robert Kirshner, one of the team's leaders, "Adam is always trying to see whether we've done things right."

From Time Magazine Archive