Grand Unified Theory, the idea that all forces can somehow relate to one another and influence one another to the point where we have one set solid explanation of the world and its forms and forces, naturally starts in cosmology, where gravity tends to resist all developments in the area. Gravity itself is a tricky force, generally classified as a “weak” force but having immense effects, depending on mass, to even light, as we learned recently.

However, the gravitational constant that Newton discovered that fundamentally became set in stone as the way to measure gravity and its strength, has previously been thought to have adjusted over time to adjust for the different forces that allowed for the Big Bang to form the universe and for all different varieties of gravity affecting the formation of the universe. Australian astronomers recently, compiling data from 580 different observable supernovae seen and recorded have come to the conclusion that the gravitational constant has been constant in the last 9 billion years! This affects the critical mass at which supernovae form to begin with, as well as altering how we perceive of the past universe – with the former idea of a changing gravitational constant, we could have assumed that the Earth had a larger semimajor axis and experienced different, longer seasons, for example, not as a result of the atmosphere but as a result of distance, or that the universe had formed in different ways that allowed adjusting to happen over time, not simply as a result of what we can already project backwards.

Fortunately or unfortunately, this means that as much as we try to deny Newton and his prowess in many different fields at one, it’s still hard to best someone from the 1600-1700s with modern day technology that gives us a deeper glimpse and further depth of truth into what we search for.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140324230254.htm