But then a spark of hope. It seemed that by observing the red shift of distant galaxies scientist had discovered the Universe was not imploding but in-fact expanding, and the effect was accelerating. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee the persistence of humankind. Eventually the sun will go dim along with all the stars that might sustain us. This of course may only be a problem if we cannot develop technology to completely sustain ourselves and span distances even more unimaginably than current distances between celestial bodies.

But why is this happening? Is it dark matter as some scientists suggest? Or is it some yet undiscovered anti-gravity wave pushing the heavens apart?

The answer isn't anti-gravity, but gravity itself. The same force that keeps us firmly planted on the ground and a blue ball circling our sun once a year is causing the universe to expand. This doesn't make sense until you understand the true nature of gravity.

It is known that gravity is "created" when space-time has to curve around mass. We know that space-time does this because we use the gravitational lensing effect to observe stars that are directly behind other massive objects in space. Simply put, light from a distant object travels through space-time and will encounter gravity, and when it does it will, from our point-of-view, bend and travel in a new direction. As far as the light was concerned, it traveled in a perfectly straight line.

But why does this curvature of space-time cause two objects to "want" to come together? The answer is quite simple. When two objects are within a certain proximity to one another, the separate curvatures of space-time merge into one. If the objects were a large distance apart, the curvature around the two objects would look like an elongated hourglass. The farther apart the two objects, the more elongated the hourglass and the thinner the "connecting" space-time curvature becomes. The closer the two objects, the less elongated the hourglass becomes. Space-time prefers the latter because it reduces the overall space-time surface tension that the curvature creates.

That may explain the affect gravity has on objects as we have come to know it, but it doesn't explain how it can also push objects apart. First consider a universe that only has a single object in it. We know that space-time will curve around the object and therefore have a certain amount of surface tension to deal with. Space prefers a lower state of energy, which is what the universe is headed towards. And because space prefers a lower state of energy, a universe with a single mass will expand in order to reduce the surface tension created by the curving effect we call gravity. And if we add a second mass to this same universe, but only very far apart, the effect of both masses causing the universe to expand will be greater than the effect of gravity pushing the two objects together.

Because of this our lonely universe with the two masses will expand and everything in it will get further apart, just like our own universe is doing. And then there is the final fate of the universe to discuss. I think the universe will neither contract to a single point or expand forever. I think the universe will use up all the energy contained within and just become a void without mass or energy, it will become still and without life. Just as sad as contracting I guess.