Part 8/9:
Historically, the concept of dark energy emerged in the late 1990s when researchers discovered that distant galaxies were moving away faster than expected. This perceived acceleration required a theoretical construct—dark energy—to explain it within the Lambda-CDM model, the prevailing cosmological framework.
The new papers claim that using databases of supernovae to test models suggests a preference for Timescape cosmology over Lambda-CDM. However, Dr. Smethurst cautions against over-interpretation of this claim. Many scholars remain skeptical, asserting that numerous existing observations align better with the established paradigm of dark energy.