Universe Could End in 33 Billion Years, New Dark-Energy Model Suggests

A new study applying a hybrid axion dark energy model to Dark Energy Survey data hints that dark energy may be dynamic. If correct, this could cause the universe’s expansion to slow, halt, and reverse, leading to a Big Crunch about 33.3 billion years from now—much sooner than the trillion-year lifetime traditionally assumed—though the result depends on several variables and requires further verification.