The Universe is slowly dying, according to astronomers who have made a study of the fall in energy levels resulting from the fusion of matter taking place in the nuclear furnaces of the stars of more than 200,000 galaxies.

A wide-spectrum survey of the galaxies has revealed the precise levels of energy generated within an immense segment of space and found that it is only half of what it was 2bn years ago – and that it is continuing to fade.

Previous work had already discovered that the conversion of matter to energy in the cosmos was declining but this is the most detailed survey to date of the sky across a wide range of light wavelengths, astronomers said.

Researchers from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western Australia used seven of the world's most powerful telescopes to observe galaxies at 21 different wavelengths of light, from the far ultraviolet to the far infrared – the most comprehensive audit of the energy output of a nearby part of the Universe.

Science News in Pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science News in Pictures Science News in Pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." 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Initial observations were conducted using the Anglo-Australian Telescope in New South Wales and supporting observations were made by two orbiting space telescopes operated by NASA and another belonging to the European Space Agency, scientists said. The research is part of the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (Gama) project, the largest multi-wavelength survey of space.

"We used as many space and ground-based telescopes we could get our hands on, to measure the energy output of over 200,000 galaxies across as broad a wavelength range as possible," said Professor Simon Driver of the ICRAR, who presented the findings at the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly in Honolulu.

"While most of the energy sloshing around was created in the aftermath of the Big Bang, additional energy is constantly being released by stars as they fuse elements like hydrogen and helium together," Professor Driver says.

All energy in the Universe was created in the Big Bang but a portion of it is locked up in the form of matter, which can be converted into energy as described by Albert Einstein’s famous equation: E=mc2.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Show all 17 1 /17 Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Moon and Antelao by Marcella Giulia (Italy) Late afternoon at San Vito di Cadore, Italy the moon shines over Monte Antelao. The snow-covered dolomite ridge of the mountain and the Earth's only natural satellite bear a striking resemblance to one another, contrasting against the bright blue of the afternoon sky. The photographer noted the likeness of the image to a snowball bouncing down an inclined plane Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images The Mirrored Night Sky by Xiaohua Zhao (China) An enthralled stargazer is immersed in the stars as the luminous purple sky is mirrored in the thin sheet of water across the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images The Night the Sky Exploded by Kris Williams (UK) A rare sighting of a red aurora, caused by the emission of high-altitude oxygen, captured on film, dancing over the small fishing town of Eyrarbakki, on the south coast of Iceland. The result of a large geomagnetic storm caused by a large coronal mass ejection, this display that lasted for hours, was one of the most colourful that the photographer had ever seen, and was even visible before darkness had completely fallen Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Star Trails over Green Lake by Dan Barr (USA) Star trails illuminate the night sky over a campfire-lit Green Lake in the Hoover Wilderness of California. Star trails are a popular subject for astrophotographers to capture using long-exposure times. Whilst they appear to illustrate the movement of the stars, they are in fact depicting the rotation of the Earth on its axis Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Calm Before the Storm by Julie Fletcher (Australia) A phenomenal natural light show of a lightning storm emanating from the underside of ominous storm clouds juxtaposed with the gleaming stars of the Milky Way above them. The photographer had watched the storm front over Kati-Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park in South Australia for around two hours before capturing this tumultuous scene, using a graduated filter upside down to balance to exposure from top to bottom to showcase the beauty of our Galaxy Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Great Nebula in Carina Bi-Colour by Terry Robison (Canada) The hypergiant star Eta Carina glows against the background of swirling clouds of dust and gases that form the Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebulae - meaning that it has no well-defined boundaries - in our skies and is about four times as large as the famed Orion Nebula Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Thor’s Helmet (NGC 2359) by Adam Block (USA) The distinctive shape of the nebula NGC 2359 has led to it also being known as Thor’s Helmet, resembling the headgear of the Norse God (and Marvel superhero). 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At the core of the nebula the very hot young stars have heated the surrounding gaseous shell to a temperature in the order of 6 million kelvins resulting in the emission of copious amounts of X-Rays. Here the photographer has applied a false colour palette to several pictures using narrowband filters, which only allow a specific colour of light to reach the camera, with each one linked to an interstellar gas, resulting in the striking blues and oranges Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Solar Prominence by Gary Palmer (UK) Searing hot loops of plasma radiate from the edge of our local star – the Sun – in a phenomenon known as a solar prominence. Emanating from the Sun’s photosphere; its outer shell from which light is emitted, prominences extend to the corona, which is the aura of the plasma surrounding it. A typical prominence covers over thousands of kilometres, with the largest ever recorded estimated to be over 800,000 kilometres, equalling roughly the radius of the Sun itself Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Motind by Rune Engebo (Norway) Living in Norway, the photographer had seen his fair share of aurorae, but on 21 January 2015 he witnessed the strongest variety of colours he had ever set eyes on in this beautiful explosion of purples and greens. Careening over the peaks of Senja, oxygen produces the greens and nitrogen the purples, seen in this particular display of the Northern Lights Rune Engebo Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy by Michael Jaeger (Austria) Comet Lovejoy sails through the solar system in a green haze leaving cometary dust in its wake. C/2014 Q2 is the fifth comet to have been discovered by Australian amateur astronomer and astrophotographer, Terry Lovejoy. Towards the end of 2014 and into the beginning of 2015 the comet could be seen through binoculars or in some special cases with the naked eye soaring through Earth’s skies. The radiant blue-green contrasting against the backdrop of the night sky is due to the diatomic gas burning off it as it travels through space, and the disjointed tail illustrates the effects of a disturbance caused by solar winds Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images M42 Subtle V1 cropped by Patrick Gilliland (UK) One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is home to it. This complex is also home to another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard's Loop and the Running Man Nebula that can be seen to the left of this photograph. The pinks and oranges that can be seen in the whorls of the nebulae are caused by the extremely hot hydrogen gas present in the structures Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Full Moon over the Alps by Stefano de Rosa (Italy) The majestic sight of the full moon setting behind the rose-tinted Alps. Taken in the silent surroundings of Superga hill in Turin, Italy, mere minutes before sunrise Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Ascent of Angels by Brad Goldpaint (USA) Following his first up-close encounter with a black bear, the photographer was relieved to reach his destination safely and capture this phenomenal image. A meteor can be seen piercing through the darkness as the Milky Way towers above the 4,392m peak of Mount Rainier in Washington, USA. The white lights dotted across the rocky paths of the mountain’s face are the headlamps of hikers ascending to the peak Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Herschel 36: The Heart of the Lagoon by László Francsics (Hungary) Situated some 5,000 light years away, the stellar nursery of the Lagoon Nebula lies in the constellation of Sagittarius. Despite being light years away the Lagoon Nebula is in fact one of the few star-forming nebulae that it is possible to see with the naked eye in optimum conditions from mid-northern latitudes Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015 - shortlisted images Aurora Panorama 3 by Jan R. Olsen (Norway) The vivid green Northern Lights dance above Lyngenfjord, the longest fjord in Troms county Norway, tracing out the shape of the Earth’s magnetic field above the waters. The most common colour associated with aurorae, the green is produced by oxygen atoms and molecules energised by the impact of solar particles that have escaped the Sun’s atmosphere, causing them to glow brightly

"This newly released energy is either absorbed by dust as it travels through the host galaxy, or escapes into intergalactic space and travels until it hits something such as another star, planet, or very occasionally a telescope mirror,” Professor Driver said.

"The Universe will decline from here on in, sliding gently into old age. The Universe has basically sat down on the sofa, pulled up a blanket and is about to nod off for an eternal doze," he said.

The team of researchers hope to expand the work to map energy production over the entire history of the Universe, using a swathe of new facilities, including the world's largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, which is due to be built in Australia and South Africa over the next decade.

Astronomers estimate that the Big Bang, when the Universe was created, took place about 13.8bn years ago. The stars and galaxies are still expanding at an accelerating rate, suggesting there is a mysterious “dark energy” overcoming the unifying effects of gravity.