Does Dark Energy Really Exist? Or does Earth occupy a very unusual place in the universe? Scientific American, March 2009 By Timothy Clifton and Pedro G. Ferreira ... Most of us are very familiar with the idea that our planet is nothing more than a tiny speck orbiting a typical star, somewhere near the edge of an otherwise unnoteworthy galaxy. In the midst of a universe populated by billions of galaxies that stretch out to our cosmic horizon, we are led to believe that there is nothing special or unique about our location. But what is the evidence for this...