Though they appear empty, the voids could contain insights into the universe’s evolution — and illuminate the mysterious forces that govern it, dark matter and dark energy. Cosmic voids potentially challenge a key notion in astrophysics known as the Copernican or cosmological principle. “Since they’re relatively empty of matter, voids are regions of space that are dominated by dark energy. In the study, the astronomers predict that the infrared telescope should detect and measure tens of thousands of cosmic voids as small as 20 million light-years across. Their focus is to investigate the shape of the voids, which would be influenced by dark energy and other cosmic forces.