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Article: Closing in on the Hubble constant. (expanding universe)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- July 4, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1929, astronomer Edwin P. Hubble deduced that the universe is expanding. Ever since, astronomers have struggled to determine the exact rate of that expansion, now known as the Hubble constant. Given the separation between two bodies, the Hubble constant dictates that they will move away from each other at a rate proportional to their distance apart.
Researchers have now taken a key step toward pinning down the value of this much debated number, which plays a fundamental role in determining the age and size of the universe.
The new value, incorporating data from the Hubble Space Telescope, indicates that the universe is at least 15 billion years old - ...