Assistant Professor of Physics Natalia Connolly published an article in the February 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. The article, titled "A New Determination of the High Redshift Type Ia Supernova Rates with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys," presents a new measurement of how often huge stellar explosions, called Type Ia supernovae, occur in the universe. Type Ia supernovae are special because they allow cosmologists to study the way the universe is expanding.
In particular, the discovery of a new and mysterious energy component of the universe -- dark energy -- was made using Type Ia supernovae. It is thus of great interest to determine how often these fascinating explosions occur. Connolly's measurement (published under her maiden name, Kuznetsova) utilized the unique ability of the Hubble Space Telescope to probe very large distances, or, equivalently, a very distant past of the Universe, looking back over 10 billion years. Connolly recently presented her results at the 211th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
In particular, the discovery of a new and mysterious energy component of the universe -- dark energy -- was made using Type Ia supernovae. It is thus of great interest to determine how often these fascinating explosions occur. Connolly's measurement (published under her maiden name, Kuznetsova) utilized the unique ability of the Hubble Space Telescope to probe very large distances, or, equivalently, a very distant past of the Universe, looking back over 10 billion years. Connolly recently presented her results at the 211th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.
