The Year of Distant Supernovae
Explanation:
Distant
supernovae were among topics at the
forefront of astronomy during 1998.
Two
independent
groups raced to deploy
large telescopes
to scan the sky,
discovering and analyzing far-off
supernovae with the promise of calibrating the
geometry of our universe.
The
results were surprising -- implying an
unexpected universe
rich in not only
dark matter
(
Omega in matter ~ 0.3) but also in
dark energy
(
Lambda ~ 0.7).
Skeptics
remain cautious, however,
some waiting for more than a few
high-
redshift
supernovae to light the way, while others
waiting
for verification methods not vulnerable
to the same types of
systematic errors.
Pictured
above are several of the distant
supernovae that have
ignited modern cosmology.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
