Astronomers calculate timeline for Universe's death and it will happen much sooner than once thought

An artistic tribute to DESI's first-year findings, featuring a slice of the vast 3D map being created during its five-year cosmic survey. (DESI Collaboration/KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek/R. Proctor)

What if everything we knew about the universe’s future was wrong? A new idea is stirring the minds of scientists, one that suggests our universe may not drift forever into emptiness. Instead, it might stop expanding and collapse sooner than expected.

Dark Energy May Not Be Constant After All

New data from DES and DESI surveys show something strange. The force called dark energy might be shifting with time. Until now, scientists thought dark energy was steady and unchanging. But these new findings suggest it could be evolving slowly. If true, it challenges our long-trusted models of the cosmos. The widely accepted idea of a constant force—the cosmological constant—may be flawed.

A New Theory Hints at a Big Crunch

A recent study, still awaiting peer review, proposes a bold explanation. It combines two forces—ultralight axion particles and a weaker cosmological constant. In this idea, axions drive the current expansion. But these particles will eventually fade and weaken. Then, a negative cosmological constant will take control. Instead of pulling galaxies apart, it will pull them in. Over time, expansion will slow, then stop, then reverse. This reversal could lead to a “Big Crunch”—the ”opposite of the Big Bang.

The authors believe this may begin in 10 billion years. The universe would then shrink for another 10 billion years. It could end in a hot, dense singularity, much like its beginning.

Uncertain Future, Exciting Possibilities

This idea is far from confirmed. The data are early results and may change. Even if dark energy isn’t constant, many different explanations exist. Still, it opens the door to new questions about our cosmic fate. Will the universe grow forever or return to a fiery end? Scientists are watching the skies for clearer answers.