Astronomical distances

 
Published: Thursday 30 November 1995

A team of astronomers at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile have sighted the most dis- tant supernova. The redshift (a measure of how fast the object is moving away from us) of the type In supernova is 0.478, which translated into its distance from us, is about 6 billion light years. The supernova was discovered by comparing images of distant galaxy clusters taken weeks apart. A study of such distant sources could lead to a solution to the puzzle whether our expanding universe will go on expanding or will eventually collapse. (Science, Vol 269, September 1, 1995).

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.