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July 1, 2011

'Zombie' Stars Key to Measuring Dark Energy

U. of Calif.-Santa Barbara, University of California-Santa Barbara


UCSB

"Zombie" stars that explode like bombs as they die, only to revive by sucking matter out of other stars. According to an astrophysicist at UC Santa Barbara, this isn't the plot for the latest 3D blockbuster movie. Instead, it's something that happens every day in the universe –– something that can be used to measure dark energy.

This special category of stars, known as Type Ia supernovae, help to probe the mystery of dark energy, which scientists believe is related to the expansion of the universe.

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TAGGED: white dwarf stars, binary star system, supernova, Stars, dark energy

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