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Free and open to the public but per our host’s policy, minors (under 18) are welcome to attend as long as they are accompanied by their parent or guardian at all times.

This meeting’s speaker will present online.

Supernovae, Dark Energy, and the

Mystery of the Accelerating Universe

Type Ia supernovae are brilliant explosions of white dwarf stars and are some of the most powerful tools for measuring the universe. By comparing how bright these supernovae appear to how bright they really are, astronomers can measure distances across billions of light-years. In the late 1990s, these measurements led to one of the most surprising discoveries in the history of science: the expansion of the universe is speeding up, driven by a mysterious phenomenon that was named dark energy.

In this talk, we will explore how supernova discoveries (including contributions from dedicated amateur astronomers) feed into modern cosmological measurements. Along the way, we’ll see how today’s observations are deepening the mystery of dark energy rather than closing the case. The accelerating universe remains one of the biggest puzzles in physics and supernovae are still lighting the way toward the answer.

David Rubin is an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His research focuses on using exploding stars called Type Ia supernovae to measure the expansion history of the universe and understand the nature of dark energy. He works on survey design, calibration, and statistical methods for current and next-generation observatories, including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Dr. Rubin received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley working with Saul Perlmutter. He is still a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project and has authored or co-authored numerous publications on supernova cosmology and the accelerating universe.

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