Articles tagged with Expanding Universe
Astronomers believe the Universe has expanded since the big bang about 15 billion years ago, but a new theory proposes that it may have rotated like a merry-go-round for an indefinitely long period. If true, this rotation could have suddenly changed into expansion thanks to a 'vacuum phase transition.'
Astronomers have discovered expanding gas clouds thrown off by nuclear eruptions in stars, which provide reliable distances to these stars. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured detailed images of two nova shells, revealing structure and asymmetry, including polar blobs and equatorial rings.
Astronomers Ari Buchalter and David Helfand study 103 galaxies to draw conclusions about the universe's shape. They believe their findings can be confirmed with results from 500 galaxies.
Researchers studied 40 distant supernovae to measure the cosmic expansion rate, finding it will expand forever due to insufficient mass for gravity to slow it down. Type Ia supernovae provide natural mile-markers to track trends in the universe's expansion.
Scientists have discovered that the May 8 gamma ray burst releases an enormous amount of energy, outshining the sun in its lifetime. Radio observations indicate the fireball expands at nearly the speed of light, with a size estimated to be about one-tenth of a light-year.