A new front has opened in the longstanding debate over how fast the universe is expanding. for years astronomers have argued over a gulf between the expansion rate as measured from galaxies in the local universe and as calculated from studies of the cosmic microwave background (cmb), the afterglow of the big bang. Hubble has been measuring the current rate of the universe’s expansion for 30 years, and astronomers want to eliminate any lingering doubt about its accuracy. now, hubble and nasa’s james webb space telescope have tag teamed to produce definitive measurements, furthering the case that something else – not measurement errors – is.
Initially as the universe's contents spread out, its energy density and therefore its expansion rate decreased. but then, roughly 5 billion years ago, galaxies began to recede once more at an ever. Astronomers are stumped. space 14 september 2023. by michelle starr. composite hubble and jwst image of galaxy ngc 5584, 72 million light years away. (nasa, esa, csa, and a. riess stsci) the james webb space telescope has measured the expansion rate of the universe, and the results are not great news for the biggest crisis in cosmology. the. Webb measurements shed new light on a decade long mystery. 11 march 2024. the rate at which the universe is expanding, known as the hubble constant, is one of the fundamental parameters for understanding the evolution and ultimate fate of the cosmos. however, a persistent difference, called the hubble tension, is seen between the value of the. Webb confirmed that the hubble telescope’s keen eye was right all along, erasing any lingering doubt about hubble’s measurements. at the center of these side by side images is a special class of star used as a milepost marker for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion – a cepheid variable star.
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