... This project is lead by Dr Brian Schmidt and aims to measure the ultimate fate of the Universe: Will the Universe expand forever, or will gravity eventually halt its expansion, and send it crashing into the "gnaB giB" the "Big Bang" in reverse? ... Measuring distances in the Universe is extremely difficult, but by comparing the relative brightnesses of SN Ia, it is possible to measure a distance to a single object with a precision of about 7%. ... SN 1997ck, the most distant star yet discovered . ...

... Printed in U.S.A. THE STELLAR DISK THICKNESS OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES D. Bizyaev 1,2,3 and S. Kajsin 4 Received 2003 October 23; accepted 2004 June 9 ABSTRACT We present surface photometry results for a sample of 11 edge-on galaxies observed with the 6 m telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russia. ... We find from a comparison of photometric scales that the stellar disks of LSB galaxies are thinner than those of high surface brightness ( HSB) galaxies. ... UGC 11301 .. ...