ESO/VVV Research/D. Minnity. Akno
This story is part of our “Cosmic Perspective” special, which confronts the incredible vastness of the universe and our place in it. Read the rest of the series here.
Since the universe began 13.8 billion years ago, a variety of characters have appeared on the stage: stars, planets, moons, quasars, etc. But for those who can’t get comfortable in the theater, we have some bad news: this cosmic stage will continue for at least another 100 billion years. This begs the question: are we living in a special moment, an interlude cliffhanger, or is this just an inconsequential moment in the story?
One hint that this is a special moment lies in the set of observed properties of the universe known as fundamental constants. These include the strength of gravity and the fine-structure constant, called alpha, which determines how matter and light interact and, ultimately, how stars burn up. If these values were just slightly different from today, it might not be possible for life to exist.
Why is everything perfect? One possible answer is that these constants aren’t that constant. Perhaps they’ve been gradually changing over the lifetime of the universe, and we just happen to be living in a lucky time. John Webb Researchers at Cambridge University have been studying this idea for decades.
