A major challenge to dark energy, the mysterious force believed to be driving the universe’s accelerating expansion, has been overturned by a new study.
Astronomers say a new analysis has reinforced one of the most important discoveries in modern cosmology, finding that the universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate.
The result counters a controversial claim made in late 2025 that suggested dark energy, the mysterious phenomenon thought to drive the universe’s accelerating expansion, might be weakening. If true, that claim would have called into question decades of research and a cornerstone of modern astronomy.
Instead, researchers led by the University of Southampton found that the original measurements remain reliable and that the universe appears to be behaving exactly as current models predict.
The findings were published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The international team included Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicists Professor Adam Riess and Professor Brian Schmidt.
New Analysis Supports Dark Energy
According to lead author Dr. Phil Wiseman of the University of Southampton, the controversy that emerged after last year’s claims stemmed from a misunderstanding in the data analysis rather than a problem with the universe itself.
He said: “The previous and well-accepted measurements were, in fact, fine and our current understanding of the fate of the universe remains robust.
“Thankfully we have averted this crisis, but the mystery about why the universe is still accelerating in size remains.
“By proving our measurements are correct, we can get back to trying to understand what dark energy actually is, rather than wondering if it exists at all.”
The accelerating expansion of the universe was first discovered by Professors Riess and Schmidt along with American astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter. Their work earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011.
Had the 2025 challenge been correct, it would have undermined not only that Nobel-winning discovery but also nearly 30 years of cosmological research built upon it.
Professor Riess said: “Extraordinary claims require especially careful testing.
“What we find is that when we calibrate these supernovae, accounting for different host environments and populations, the evidence for cosmic acceleration remains remarkably consistent.”
Supernova Measurements Reexamined
To investigate the claims, the Southampton team revisited observations of Type Ia supernovae, extremely bright explosions of white dwarf stars that astronomers use to measure enormous distances across the universe.
The 2025 study argued that these supernovae reached different peak brightness levels as the universe aged. According to that interpretation, astronomers may have mistakenly concluded that cosmic expansion was accelerating when it was actually slowing down.
However, the new study identified problems with that analysis.
Researchers found that the earlier work incorrectly treated the age of a galaxy as equivalent to the age of the star that eventually exploded as a supernova. The team concluded that this assumption led to inaccurate results.
The researchers also noted that the 2025 paper did not properly account for the mass of the galaxies hosting the supernovae. This correction is routinely included in modern cosmological studies because it helps improve the accuracy of measurements.
Lessons for Cosmology
Professor Mark Sullivan of the University of Southampton emphasized that questioning established ideas remains an essential part of the scientific process.
He said: “This is how progress is made. Although this idea did not turn out correct, it has opened up new ways of thinking about how supernovae explode and how we can measure dark energy more accurately.”
Co-author Dr. Brodie Popovic said the study provided an opportunity to reexamine assumptions that underpin modern cosmology.
He added: “We’ve recently been really focused on astrophysics of the explosions and how they impact cosmology.
“This was a good opportunity to go back and go over all of our assumptions – it turns out, yes, we do understand this stuff, and we’re accounting for it in our cosmology measurement.”
Reference: “Still accelerating: type Ia supernova cosmology is robust to host galaxy age evolution” by Phil Wiseman, Brodie Popovic, Mark Sullivan, Adam G Riess, Dan Scolnic, Rebecca C Chen, Tamara M Davis, Lluís Galbany, Isobel M Hook, Saurabh W Jha, Lisa Kelsey, Yukei S Murakami, Mickaël Rigault, Benjamin M Rose, Brian Schmidt, Mat Smith and Maria Vincenzi, 10 June 2026, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag797
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6 Comments
As the still unrecognized senior lay American male who inadvertently discovered the true nature of gravity on my own in 2009 and has had video demonstrations/explanations of my findings and interpretations online since 2012, I regret to disagree with the much more qualified researchers but believe I must, for the sake of science. I was hoping that my most recent video (https://odysee.com/@charlesgshaver:d/5Gravity:c) would be convincing enough but a year later I’m attempting another: “6GRAVITY: Disproving Time Dilation.” I hope to prove my model of gravity for once and for always. The gist of the matter is that I find that photons accelerate (blueshift) on expanding lines of gravity force when emitted by stars and decelerate (redshift) on contracting lines of gravity force when arriving to earth, nearly ruling-out an expanding universe, let alone the acceleration of an expanding universe. With a few final preliminary tests this week, I hope to complete the new low-budget, down-to-earth experiment and demonstration within about a month, with published documentation and a new video to follow in short order.
Dark Energy is easily explained by using a rotating universe model which is driving spacetime expansion. The spatial expansion is a natural phenomenon of centrifugal force as the cosmos rotates slowly while expanding. The rate of expansion has been slowing as the disk increases in volume, diameter and circumference since its beginning. At it’s present age since the “big bang” rapid expansion, the original exponential rate of expansion has decreased with the size of the disk and is now at a slow enough rotation rate (angular momentum) that isotropy of the residual CMB and galaxy distribution are minimally influenced and show little anisotropy. However, this rotationally induced slow expansion explains why the galaxies and spacetime are accelerating away from each other, as well as the phenomena of red shift and the cosmological “constant” (actually a slowing expansion value over cosmological time) observed as they accelerate away from our point of reference. Observations regarding the shape of the universe have determined that it is similar to a thick flat planar shape, but since there is no way to determine the “boundary” or shape of the universe, since there is no external reference, and the fact that we are are observing from inside the confines of the universal volume, the rotational component cannot be observed. The Friedman equations used Einstein’s GR to mathematically equate the mass-energy content and a FLAT, non-rotating, spatial geometry. When the equations substitute a rotational component of expansion into the equations the math justifies that a rotational component is highly plausible and likely.
While mainstream astrophysics is currently breathing a sigh of relief that their data holds up, they are still completely in the dark about what dark energy actually is. They treat it as a mysterious, unexplained outward “push” or a cosmological constant plugged into an equation.
Under the framework of the Torsion Hill Theory (The Unified Theory of the Grand Universe), you don’t need to invent an elusive, invisible substance to explain why the universe is accelerating. Instead, that acceleration is a natural, geometric consequence of the system.
Here is how the Torsion Hill framework directly addresses and redefines what the mainstream calls “dark energy”: Torsion as the Missing Driver
Standard cosmology heavily relies on curvature (General Relativity) but completely omits torsion (the twisting of spacetime). By introducing torsion as a fundamental component of the Grand Universe:
The twisting force creates an inherent rotational and expansive tension.
What astronomers observe as “dark energy” accelerating the supernovae away from us is actually the measurable effect of this torsional field manifesting on a macroscopic, cosmic scale. $$\mathcal{T}_{mi} = \oint \left( \mathbf{\Omega} \times \mathbf{\nabla}\Phi_h \right) d\mathbf{V}$$
Torsion is analogous to angular rotation but have different measurement references one is force measurement or torque (Newton Meters), the other is rotational speed (angle of rotation Theta) or radians. Torque is a linear constrained twisting force, rotation is a result of this twisting around a center point of rotation. Probably, just a semantic issue. In any case, rotation creates outward centrifugal force from some center point reference. Centrifugal force = cosmological constant in an expanding universal volume.
Scientists don’t like to see their theories disproved.
Scientists make their living on acquiring grant money. Grant funding depends upon developing theories and “proofs” and often take years of research and collaboration. Heck of a way to make a living on the US taxpayer or philanthropic donations.