ESA’s Planck observatory

Hubble constant mismatch no fluke; new physics may be needed

27 April 2019 Astronomy Now

More precise observations of pulsating Cepheid variable stars confirms a major discrepancy in values of the Hubble constant.

Hubble finds universe is expanding faster than expected

2 June 2016 Astronomy Now

When Edwin Hubble discovered nearly 100 years ago that the universe was uniformly expanding in all directions, the finding was a big surprise. Then, in the mid-1990s, another shocker occurred: astronomers found that the expansion rate was accelerating, perhaps due to “dark energy.” Now, the latest measurements of our runaway universe suggest that it is expanding faster than astronomers thought.

NASA balloon mission seeks evidence of cosmological inflation

27 April 2016 Astronomy Now

Now that scientists have confirmed the existence of gravitational waves, a NASA team using a balloon-borne observatory is set to search for a predicted signature of primordial gravitational waves that would prove the infant universe expanded far faster than the speed of light and began growing exponentially almost instantaneously after the Big Bang.