The Universe's Fate Rests on the Hubble Constant—Which Has So Far Eluded Astronomers

A precise measurement of the Hubble constant, the value that describes how fast the universe is expanding, has eluded scientists for decades. Pinning this number down would put a long-simmering debate among astronomers to rest and bring us one step closer to understanding the evolution and fate of the universe. Now researchers have used recent detections of gravitational waves to present a proof of concept for an entirely new method of determining the constant.