Does Dark Matter adequately explain why the Universe is expanding at an accelerate rate?
No dark matter wasn’t enough in some scientists minds, that’s why dark energy was added to the mix, whether dark energy exists is still a matter of scholarly debate. The expansion rate of the universe is 71+/-3.5 km/sec/Mpc, this number is subject to quite a bit of uncertainty. On large scales scientists believe the universe homogeneous, on our scale is certainly is not. Large scale homogeneity implies uniform expansion. Here are links to a couple of segments for the excellent CBC radio science show Quirks and Quarks where dark matter and energy is discussed “The inconsistency between his results and those of other astronomers has yet to be resolved. For the moment, most astronomers think there are more strengths to the theory of dark energy than there are weaknesses, but many are still uncomfortable with the idea that we know nothing about the most influential and powerful force in the universe.
