ISO: no 'Big Crunch' for Universe

Using data from ESA's ISO infrared space telescope, astronomers have detected for the first time the element deuterium in an active star-forming region, in the Orion Nebula about 1500 light-years away. The signature of the element appears in the spectra overlaid on the optical image of the Orion Nebula. The deuterium measured by ISO's Long Wavelength Spectrometer was locked up in the primary deuterium-bearing molecule in the Universe, hydrogen deuteride (HD). Observers found in the Orion Bar one deuterium atom for every 100000 hydrogen atoms, which is consistent with other measurements in other places. This confirms that the amount of normal matter is not enough to halt the expansion of the Universe and cause it to collapse into a 'Big Crunch'. [Image Date: 1999/03] [99.04.004-001]