Dark Matter and Dark Enery

Although we have learned a great deal about dark energy we still know a lot less than there is to know about it.  By understanding that our universe expands, we are able to better understand dark energy.  As Albert Einstein said "empty space is not nothing".  This is how we are certain that dark energy exist, because we know that space can be invisibly filled.  In terms of dark matter, it is matter we cannot see.  This creates a struggle while studying the universe because many aspects of the universe that we study we are able to see such as the planets and Milky Way Galaxy.  However, just because it is invisible does not mean it does not exist.  This reminds me of when I first learned about air.  Does air carry weight?  One’s initial thought was of course not, yet, then my science teacher asked each of us to blow up a balloon and our answers were quickly proven false.  Similarly, just because we cannot see air, does not mean it does not exist and does not mean it does not have a weight.     

While researching to write this blog post I came across this image:

Although it is scary because it illustrates all of the unknown within our universe, it does help express the role of dark matter and dark energy within our universe. 

The most imperative notion that the existence of dark matter and dark energy tell us is that there is an extreme amount of information we still do not know about our universe.

Interesting links:

http://preposterousuniverse.com/writings/cosmologyprimer/dark.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/11/07/dark-matter-what-we-know-and-why-you-should-care/