--- title: "We May Have “Misunderstood the Universe,” Nobel Prize Winner Says" description: "New James Webb Space Telescope measurements suggest that problems with Universal expansion rates may be caused by something else entirely." date: "2024-03-13" modified: "2024-03-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/adam-reiss-nobel-misunderstood-universe" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "dark energy" - "hubble constant" - "james webb space telescope" - "the digest" --- # We May Have “Misunderstood the Universe,” Nobel Prize Winner Says ![New James Webb Space Telescope measurements suggest that problems with Universal expansion rates may be caused by something else entirely.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## You Grow Girl For a long time, scientists believed they understood how fast the universe is growing — but the more they learn, those theories seem to be expanding as fast as the universe itself. Basically, the "[Hubble constant]()" measures the speed at which the universe is expanding. The only problem? Different instruments keep providing different values for it, giving rise to what's known as the "[Hubble tension]()." It raises an interesting possibility: that, as Nobel Prize-winning physicist Adam Riess explains in a NASA blog, much of what we thought we knew about the universe may have been wrong. "We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble tension with very high confidence," the Johns Hopkins physicist said. ## Add 'Em Up Pointing the Webb telescope deep into the universe to try to confirm Hubble's complicated numbers [back in 2023](), scientists were puzzled when the newer telescope confirmed the findings of its predecessor, deepening the discrepancy. One possibility for the surprising reders could be stellar crowding, which occurs when space telescopes see more stars than they are able to handle, might affect expansion measurements as the light from them essentially warps their vision. Stellar dust makes this effect even stronger, but as NASA explains, the Webb should be able to cut through the noise and get more accurate imaging and distance measurements. As Reiss speculates, there may be something greater going on than the numbers not adding up. "With measurement errors negated," he told NASA, "what remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the universe." **More on the dark Universe:** [*Dark Matter May Be a Deformed Mirror Universe, Scientists Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()