type 1a supernova
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Cosmology Demystified
That has got to be the single strangest post title I’ve ever written. Of all the whacky branches of science out there, cosmology almost takes the cake — second only, I think, to the downright trippy world of quantum mechanics.…
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Cosmology: How Do We Know?
Have you ever wondered how the heck astronomers think we know anything about cosmology? It’s a truly mind-blowing field of study, full of whacky concepts like the shape of empty space, the expansion of the universe, and dark energy. More…
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The Discovery of Dark Energy
In 1998, astronomers made an extraordinary discovery. Contrary to expectation, the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Astronomers wondered at first if their measurements were wrong; further measurements confirmed the results. And then confirmation of the expansion came in the…
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Should Expanding Space be Slowing Down?
Einstein’s theory of general relativity holds that matter curves the fabric of space-time. That’s how gravity works. In turn, that gravity shapes the fabric of the universe. Depending on how much mass is in the universe, gravitation can curve the…
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How Far Away are Galaxies?
Well, I’ll give you a spoiler: they’re ridiculously far away. Let’s consider for a moment what a light-year actually means. It sounds like a unit of time, but it’s actually the distance that light travels in one Earth year. Think…
