In the culmination of a decade’s worth of effort, the DES collaboration of scientists analyzed an unprecedented sample of more than 1,500 supernovae classified using machine learning. They placed the strongest constraints on the expansion of the universe ever obtained with the DES supernova survey. While consistent with the current standard cosmological model, the results do not rule out a more complex theory that the density of dark energy in the universe could have varied over time.
For over a century, scientists have wondered what is counteracting the force of gravity in the universe.
Just because matter is visible doesn’t mean it’s easy to see.
Scientists have proposed new instruments that would use spectroscopy to decode dark matter, dark energy and cosmic inflation.
Collaborators on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument breathe a sigh of relief as they successfully restart the state-of-the-art experiment.
From URA.org (University Research Association), June 30, 2022: Matthew Portman’s research on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument was accepted by the URA’s Visiting Scholars Program Review Panel and was awarded funding to work at Fermilab where he worked with Dr. Antonella Palmese, a former Visiting Scholar herself. Portman’s curiosity for gravitational waves and coding knowledge allowed him to merge both physics and computer science while at Fermilab.
From Science Times, January 31, 2022: The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning image of the Phoenix constellation with a group of galaxies collectively known as NGC that is approximately 450 million light-years away from Earth. The picture of three galaxies interacting was taken using a combination of the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys that includes the Dark Energy Survey Camera (DECam), developed and tested at Fermilab.
After less than a year of data taking, DESI has already mapped out more galaxies than all previous 3D surveys combined — and it’s just getting started.
From Brazil Culture, November 3, 2021: Fermilab’s Marcelle Soares Santos was included in this impressive exhibit of “Women in Science” curated by the Catavento Museum of São Paulo. The exhibition was conceived to bring to light women who acted and act in a significant way for scientific research and development, presenting, in monumental panels, 12 scientists from different times, nationalities and areas of knowledge. To read in English, click on the title above, right click and hit translate.
From Phys.org, August 24, 2021: Using the powerful 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) created and tested by Fermilab for the DES, astronomers have discovered an asteroid with the shortest orbital period of any known asteroid in the Solar System.