Rare Cosmic Explosion Spotted Five Times Offers New Path to Understanding Universe's Expansion
Photo: NASA Hubble Space Telescope / Unsplash
Astronomers have identified an extraordinary supernova 10 billion light-years away that appears five times in our sky due to gravitational lensing—a cosmic optical illusion created by foreground galaxies. By measuring the tiny time delays between each appearance, scientists can now directly calculate how fast the universe is expanding, potentially solving one of astronomy's most fundamental puzzles.
Astronomers have identified an extraordinary supernova 10 billion light-years away that appears five times in our sky due to gravitational lensing—a cosmic optical illusion created by foreground galaxies. By measuring the tiny time delays between each appearance, scientists can now directly calculate how fast the universe is expanding, potentially solving one of astronomy’s most fundamental puzzles.