Is Earth In A Giant Empty Bubble? Big Bang Echoes May Hold The Answer

Last Updated:July 10, 2025, 11:24 IST

Earth may lie in a giant cosmic void, altering our view of the universe's expansion and potentially solving the long-standing Hubble Tension mystery

Scientists claim that Earth is located in a giant 'Hubble Bubble'. (Credit: Moritz Haslbauer and Zarija Lukic/Royal Astronomical Society, CC BY 4.0)

Scientists have proposed that Earth, along with our solar system and galaxy, may be drifting within a massive, sparsely populated region of space, reshaping our understanding of the universe’s expansion.

What Is ‘Hubble Tension’?

The term ‘Hubble Tension’ refers to conflicting measurements of how quickly the universe is expanding. One approach uses ancient light from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), left behind by the Big Bang, which offers a global estimate.

The other method examines the redshift of distant galaxies and supernovae closer to Earth. The results don’t match, posing a major cosmological mystery.

The ‘Hubble Bubble’ Hypothesis

Dr Indraneel Banik from the University of Portsmouth, USA, suggests this mismatch could be due to our location in a giant cosmic void, nicknamed the ‘Hubble Bubble’.

If Earth lies in a region containing around 20% less matter than average, spanning nearly 2 billion light years, then galaxies would appear to move faster than they actually are, distorting our local expansion rate readings.

Clues From The Echoes Of The Big Bang

Dr Banik’s team studied Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), that is, sound waves frozen into the structure of the cosmos after the Big Bang. These waves provide a consistent way to measure cosmic expansion.

Their analysis revealed slight but significant changes in angle and redshift, just as predicted if we are inside a vast void. Dr Banik claims this void model is 100 million times more precise than previous models that ignore the bubble.

Rethinking Cosmic Models

This theory challenges the long-standing Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) model, which assumes a uniform universe.

Dr Banik’s team now employs a method called the ‘Cosmic Chronometer’, comparing galaxy ages and structures to trace expansion variations across the cosmos. If their data continues to align, it could lead to a lasting resolution of the Hubble Tension puzzle.

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