Ultimate fate of the universe 7.5 billion years after the Big Bang, that the expansion rate of the universe has likely been increasing, commensurate with the Open Universe theory. However, other recent measurements by Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe suggest that the universe is either flat or very close to flat. If formula_5, then the geometry of space is closed like the surface of a sphere. The sum of the angles of a triangle exceeds 180 degrees and there are no parallel lines; all lines eventually meet. The geometry of the universe is, at least on a very large scale, elliptic. In a closed universe, gravity
Triangle inequality angles satisfy: Therefore, and so, in particular, That means side opposite angle is shorter than side opposite the larger angle . But . Hence: A similar construction shows , establishing the theorem. An alternative proof (also based upon the triangle postulate) proceeds by considering three positions for point : (i) as depicted (which is to be proven), or (ii) coincident with (which would mean the isosceles triangle had two right angles as base angles plus the vertex angle , which would violate the triangle postulate), or lastly, (iii) interior to the right triangle between points and (in which case angle