In a bold new theory, scientists suggest the universe may not expand forever — but instead collapse in a massive “Big Crunch” in about 20 billion years
In a startling revelation that could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos, scientists have proposed that the universe may not expand forever, but could instead meet a dramatic end in a colossal “Big Crunch.”
A new study, based on data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), suggests that dark energy — the mysterious force believed to be pushing the universe apart — might not be constant as once thought. If true, this finding could have universe-shattering implications.
According to the researchers, who have published their findings in a preprint paper (awaiting peer review), dark energy may evolve over time, potentially turning negative in the distant future. Their work supports the axion-dark energy model (aDE), a newer theory that allows dark energy to fluctuate, unlike the long-accepted “cosmological constant” model.
If the cosmological constant becomes negative, as the data hints, gravity would ultimately win the tug-of-war with expansion. The universe’s outward growth would reverse, contracting until all matter, space, and time collapse into a dense singularity — the Big Crunch, the mirror image of the Big Bang.
The prediction paints a stark timeline: the universe, now 13.8 billion years old, might live for a total of 33.3 billion years. That means we’re already nearing the halfway point of cosmic history. In approximately 20 billion years, the entire universe could implode.
Astrophysicists stress that this scenario, while dramatic, isn’t set in stone. More observations and evidence are needed to validate the aDE model and confirm whether dark energy truly changes over time.
Still, the findings mark a profound shift in how scientists understand the future of everything. For the first time, the universe may not be running on an eternal timeline, but on a ticking cosmic clock.
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