Scientists believe that our universe is expanding at a rapid rate, but there is a problem. A puzzle of sorts is there and it needs to be solved which is called the “Hubble Tension,” it avers that the current rate of the expansion of the universe is faster than what astronomers expect it to be. Therefore, to understand the Universe’s expansion rate, NASA’s James Webb Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have joined hands to find the inconsistency in measurements. The telescope’s high-resolution data will help researchers study the puzzle and find out what really is happening with our Universe. Check out how cosmologists are planning to solve the errors and bring accuracy.
Universe expansion rate
According to a NASA report, the Hubble Space Telescope has been studying the current expansion rate of the Universe. Now, the James Webb Space Telescope too has joined the team to bring accurate measurements and avoid any errors in the process. Earlier, it was speculated that Hubble’s measurements of the expansion rate were accurate. However, scientists believe that they may encounter errors in the measurements as they dive deeper into understanding the universe. Adam Riess, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said, “We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed, and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence.”
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Scientists have been using several methods to measure relative distances in the universe, these methods are known as the cosmic distance ladder. Scientists study distinct objects which helps them measure the universe’s expansion rate. However, the method may come with some inaccuracies, but scientists believe that both the James Webb Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope together will prove very useful to understand our universe. Riess said, “Combining Webb and Hubble gives us the best of both worlds. We find that the Hubble measurements remain reliable as we climb farther along the cosmic distance ladder.”
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