New Kind of Supernova Discovered

[Jamie]

Astronomers used to believe that all Type 1a supernovae were essentially the same brightness. That’s because they explode with the same amount of fuel. But now a supernova has been discovered that’s twice as bright as all the other Type 1a supernovae. This is a problem, since this kind of supernovae are used as standard candles, to determine distances across the Universe. Most recently, these supernovae have been used to calculate the mysterious force called dark energy that seems to be accelerating the expansion of the Universe.

Read the full story hrere http://tinyurl.co.uk/suaq

[The Warthog]

Oh, good! I thought this was about the Rock Star Supernova, which is simply annoying.

So, does this mean our standard candles have to be recalibrated and we're going to spend the rest of my life debating whether there's as much dark matter or more than we thought?

[Jamie]

So, does this mean our standard candles have to be recalibrated and we're going to spend the rest of my life debating whether there's as much dark matter or more than we thought?

Yes!!!!!