Meyer hopes it will help scientists learn more about the mysterious force called dark energy.

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Ten billion light-years distant, Mingus will help shed light on so-called dark energy, the force that appears to be speeding up cosmic expansion.

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And yet dark suspicions dog the force.

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Because it opposes the attractive force of gravity, dark energy tends to inhibit cluster formation.

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The teenagers on the scrambler were aged between 14 and 15, were wearing dark-coloured clothing and had their faces covered, the force said.

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And, when you look underneath the science, dark energy is really an undiscovered force of nature that changes how we understand and explain what we observe to be true.

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Dark energy, a mysterious force thought to drive the expansion of the universe, trails at 12 to 1.

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Its face is a large disc, painted dark blue, with what looks like a red-hot explosive force emanating from the centre.

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But exactly what's driving that expansion - the force responsible for pulling the Universe apart, and for want of a better description, dubbed dark energy - remains a mystery.

BBC: Getting the measure of dark energy

And dark energy may turn out to be almost the mirror opposite of gravity - a repulsive rather than an attractive force, and one that strengthens with distance rather than weakening.

BBC: Getting the measure of dark energy