The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made precise observations that challenge the standard model of cosmology, raising the need for new physics to explain the universe's expansion.
Something is awry in our expanding cosmos. Nearly a century ago, the astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the balloon-like inflation of the universe and the accelerating rush of all galaxies away from each other. Following that expansion backward in time led to our current best understanding of how everything began — the Big Bang .
But over the past decade, an alarming hole has been growing in this picture: Depending on where astronomers look, the rate of the universe's expansion (a value called the Hubble constant) varies significantly. Now, on the second anniversary of its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has cemented the discrepancy with stunningly precise new observations that threaten to upend the standard model of cosmology. The new physics needed to modify or even replace the 40-year-old theory is now a topic of fierce debate
James Webb Space Telescope Cosmology Universe's Expansion Hubble Constant Big Bang