“We don’t know whether that will stop, stay constant, or get constant.”
However, Ms Thaller, who studied at Harvard University, detailed how NASA has theorised an effect known as the “Big Rip” which could be catastrophic to human life.
She added: “There may be a day this expansion force is so strong our galaxy starts to pull apart.
“The sun and the Earth could be pulled away from each other and it could be strong enough to pull apart your atoms and make you disappear.