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An international team of astronomers has for the first time, seen the strong cosmic magnification and multiple images of a class of supernova called Type Ia. Type Ia supernovas--often referred to as "standard candles" because of their well-known intrinsic brightness--are frequently used by astronomers to accurately measure the expansion rate of our universe, as well as the amount of dark energy, which is thought to be accelerating this expansion.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Palomar Observatory/California Institute of Technology
