Apr 2 2001
From The Space Library
NASA announced that astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) had discovered a supernova blast located farther away from Earth than any previously observed object. The discovery provided support for the theory that the universe might be expanding more rapidly than in the past. The supernova, approximately 10 billion light-years away from Earth, was relatively bright. According to Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute, the researcher who made the find, the discovery was significant because scientists would now be able, not only to observe the activities of the universe, but also to understand why it behaves as it does. “This supernova shows us the universe is behaving like a driver who slows down approaching a red stoplight and then hits the accelerator when the light turns green,” Riess explained. (NASA, “Farthest Supernova Ever Seen Sheds Light on Dark Universe,” news release 01-58, 2 April 2001.)
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