Universe May Face Earlier Demise Than Previously Calculated

For generations, cosmologists have held a vision of the universe's end as something almost beyond imagining — a cold, dark finality trillions of years away. New analysis now suggests that timeline may be significantly compressed, driven by a revised understanding of dark energy, the invisible force accelerating the cosmos outward. Though the practical stakes for humanity are nonexistent, the philosophical weight is considerable: what we thought we knew about the ultimate fate of everything may need to be rewritten.