News Astronomy

A supernova’s delayed reappearance could pin down how fast the universe expands

The catch: We have to wait until about 2037 for an answer

a black background highlights several galaxies, with a half-circle orange arc

This cluster of galaxies, seen in a Hubble telescope image, contorts the light of a galaxy far behind it into arcs (orange).

A. Newman, M. Akhshik, K. Whitaker, Hubble/NASA, ESA

By Ken Croswell

A meandering trek taken by light from a remote supernova in the constellation Cetus may help researchers pin down how fast the universe expands — in another couple of decades.