Simulation Showing Structures Growing Over Cosmic Time (IMAGE)
Caption
These are three snapshots taken from a simulation by J. Diemand, J. Stadel and B. Moore showing the formation of cosmic structure in the presence of dark matter and dark energy. The snapshots are taken at times when the Universe was 20 percent, 60 percent and 100 percent of its full size (for ease of comparison, the images have been scaled to be the same size). Note how structures increase in size under the attractive force of gravity, leading to the formation of the largest collapsed structures, galaxy clusters. The growth of galaxy clusters is stifled at later times by dark energy, which is driving accelerated expansion.
Credit
J. Diemand et al.
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