Dark Energy

1)     What observations led to the proposal of Dark Energy? Typically in science, you do not come up with an extension of your theory or propose a new hypothesis unless new data contradicts existing ideas. In other words, why did scientists begin proposing that there was a new thing we call Dark Energy and why is it called Dark Energy?

2)     What other hypothesis exist for explain the observations you listed in part #1 if any?

3)     What is currently known about Dark Energy?

a.      Is Dark Energy ‘dark?’ Is Dark Energy even energy at all?

4)     What are some of the current unknowns of Dark Energy?

5)     What future experiments are being done that can shed light on Dark Energy?

6)     In light of all of this, what is your personal opinion on Dark Energy and its validity as a scientific explanation?

Some potentially helpful sources:

Dark Energy: Physics for the 21st Century (28 minutes)

What is dark energy? (6 minutes)

http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2011/10/04/dark-energy-faq/

Lab #2 Dark Matter and Dark Energy