Astronomers Might Finally Know Just How Fast the Universe is Expanding
You probably know that the Universe is constantly expanding, but the speed at which it is doing so is a more confusing topic. However, experts say that new measurements made with the James Webb Space telescope could finally solve a longstanding issue with our understanding.
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00:00You probably know that the universe is constantly expanding but the speed at
00:08which it is doing so is a more confusing topic. However experts say that new
00:12measurements made with the James Webb Space Telescope could finally solve a
00:16long-standing issue with our understanding. The Hubble constant is the
00:19accelerated rate in which the universe is getting bigger based on a couple of
00:22distant objects and metrics that serve as cosmic rulers. The problem is there is
00:27a range of error between these sets so astronomers have now focused on one of
00:30them, in particular on a group of stars known as the red giant branch. Red
00:35giants end up at a standard size and brightness as they age, meaning they
00:39could be the most accurate objects with which to use as measuring devices. So
00:43they pointed the James Webb telescope to precisely measure the distance between
00:46several red giant branches of stars as well as some others. This allowed them to
00:50cross-check for errors, finding that there was a pretty solid agreement
00:53amongst all models measured this way, with the researchers finding once and
00:57possibly for all that the universe is getting bigger at around 43 miles per
01:01second per megaparsec.