Astronomers have discovered the most distant known supernova, an exploded star some 9.5 billion light-years from Earth that could be one of the shining lights in testing the idea that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

1999. Supernovae. International Astronomical Union. Circular No. 7312. November 19.

Cowen, R. 1998. The greatest story ever told. Science News 154(Dec. 19&26):392.

Nicholas B. Suntzeff
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
AURA, Inc.
Casilla 603
La Serena
Chile

John L. Tonry
University of Hawaii
Institute for Astronomy
2680 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 22, November 27, 1999, p. 341. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.