Einstein's 'biggest blunder' turns out to be right

By Clara Moskowitz

updated 11/24/2010 1:58:36 PM ET

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A. Evans / NRAO / NASA / ESA / STScI

This Hubble image displays a pair of spiral galaxies with swirling arms. The binary galactic system is located in the constellation Draco, about 350 million light-years away. Astronomers studied galaxy pairs like this to determine the geometry of the universe, which shed light on dark energy.

What Einstein called his worst mistake, scientists are now depending on to help explain the universe.

In 1917, Albert Einstein inserted a term called the cosmological constant into his theory of general relativity to force the equations to predict a stationary universe in keeping with physicists' thinking at the time. When it became clear that the universe wasn't actually static, but was expanding instead, Einstein abandoned the constant, calling it the '"biggest blunder" of his life.

But lately scientists have revived Einstein's cosmological MORE HERE