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After 2 years in space, the James Webb telescope has broken cosmology. Can it be fixed? | Live Science

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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. For decades, measurements of the universe's expansion have suggested a disparity known as the Hubble tension, which threatens to break cosmology as we know it. Now, on the eve of its second anniversary, a new finding by the James Webb Space Telescope has only entrenched the mystery. Something is awry in our expanding cosmos. Nearly a century ago, the astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the balloon-like inflation of the universe and the accelerating rush of all galaxies away from each other. Following that expansion backward in time led to our current best understanding of how everything began — the Big Bang. But over the past decade, an alarming hole has been growing in this picture: Depending on where astronomers look, the rate of the universe's expansion (a value called the Hubble constant) varies significantly. Related: 'It could be profound': How astronomer Wendy Freedman is trying

An artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope. (Image credit: Alamy) Share Copy link Facebook X Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Something is awry in our expanding cosmos. Nearly a century ago, the astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the balloon-like inflation of the universe and the accelerating rush of all galaxies away from each other. Following that expansion backward in time led to our current best understanding of how everything began - the Big Bang . But

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