Since the universe is expanding in all directions at once, like a loaf of bread dough rising, wouldn't all points further away from any refernce point simply appear to be accelerating? If so, then there is no need for a Dark Energy cause to explain this apparent, but misrepresented "acceleration".
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No. Dark energy is the cause of this acceleration. "all points further away from any refernce point simply appear to be accelerating? " This is true though. – QuIcKmAtHs Jan 14 '18 at 03:54
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The current theory supports that there is dark energy – QuIcKmAtHs Jan 14 '18 at 05:21
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"Dark energy" is just bunk to explain why the current theories don't match observation - the "cosmological constant" in a modern guise. – Steve Jan 15 '18 at 01:42
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No. You need to distinguish between "moving away" (which all points would be) and "accelerating" (i.e. the "moving away" is getting faster over time). Having a Big Bang implies the first- that the universe is expanding over time, but not the second, that the expansion is getting faster.
Chris
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By “expansion” one means $\dot{a}>0$, where $a(t)$ is the scale factor of the universe. By “accelerating expansion” one means $\ddot{a}>0$. The former does not imply the latter (take, for example $a\propto t^{2/3}$, which is the rate of expansion in a matter dominated universe.)
bapowell
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