Having read 'The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality' by Richard Panek, it was with great interest I learned of the awarding of the Nobel prize in Physics to Saul Permutter; Brian Schmidt; and Adam G Riess. (See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/science/space/05nobel.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=dennis%20overbye&st=cse) Because the book brings out their human qualities, I view them as not just cold, calculating scientists.
The Noble was awarded for their work on the accelerating universe. (See the Astronomy Picture of the Day at: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html)
But is the universe really accelerating?
A new idea has been put forward by Edmund Schluessel of Cardiff University. He argues that gravitational waves, which are disturbances in the fabric of spacetime created by massive gravitational disturbances like colliding black holes or the Big Bang, are big enough to disrupt our observation of the distant universe. His theories are not accepted by the established physics pooh-bahs, but what if he is correct? Read all about it at: (http://io9.com/5844188/gigantic-gravitational-waves-could-explain-the-universes-biggest-mysteries)
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