“Webb and Hubble reveal mind-blowing discovery: Universe expanding in conflicting speeds and directions!”
Since a century ago we have known that . However, what seemed to be an indisputable consensus has transformed into a crack in our understanding of the cosmos. The most recent data from the James Webb and Hubble, combined with the precision of the Planck satellite, confirm a paradox:
### The first light that revealed the expansion
To understand this contradiction, we must go back to the , the first luminous trace left by the universe when it was only 380,000 years old. The captured in detail that radiation and measured an expansion rate of 67 kilometers per second per megaparsec.
For years, this value was accepted as the most solid reference. is like a fossil photograph of the primitive universe, but the problem arises when compared to what , where current stars and galaxies tell us a different story.
### The heartbeat of Cepheid stars
In the cosmic present, . These pulsating giants shine with a rhythm that can be used as a rule of distance. By observing them, the Hubble Telescope and now also the James Webb have calculated an expansion of about 74 kilometers per second per megaparsec, notably faster than the one recorded by Planck.
The difference is not insignificant. Between 67 and 74 there is a discrepancy that cannot be explained by simple calculation errors: two different methods, both precise, offer incompatible results.
### A paradox that redefines the cosmic future
Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess, leader of the scientific team behind this discovery, summarized it bluntly: “What remains is the real and exciting possibility that we have misunderstood the Universe.” In his article published in , Riess dismisses the idea that it is an instrumental error. The combination of Hubble and Webb confirms the reliability of the measurements.
Are there new invisible particles influencing matter and energy? Are we facing a clue about the nature of dark energy? The Hubble tension is now an open frontier, a reminder that even the pillars of cosmology can fracture.
