accelerating expansion

Astronomers, using new data from NASA's Chandra Observatory are making new discoveries about the expansion of the universe. the latest information has led scientists to belive that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate to the force known as "dark energy" (almost makes it sound like "the force" from the star wars series!) - probably putting the "Big Crunch" (reverse of the Big Bang - the collapse of the universe) or the "BIg Rip" (tearing apart because of very rapid expansion) theories of the fate of the universe to rest. Details are available from NASA's website. Needless to say, the telescope has been named after the Nobel laureate, Subramanyan Chandrasekhar (he received the 1983 prize in Physics for his theoretical studies of the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars).