Using a rare type of giant Cepheid variable stars as cosmic milemarkers, astronomers have found a way to measure distances to objects three times farther away in space than previously possible. Classical Cepheids are stars that pulse in brightness and have long been used as reference points for measuring distances in the nearby Universe. But astronomers have found a way to use “ultra long period” (ULP) Cepheid variables as beacons to measure distances up to 300 million light years and beyond.
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