Christa Gall: Why dust is not a parameter

Thursday 22 Jan 2026, 13:15 → 14:00 Europe/Stockholm

A5:1003 (AlbaNova Main Building)

Astrophysical transients, such as massive stars exploding as supernovae (SNe) are the spotlights of the universe, which is filled with tiny solid particles, cosmic dust. Such dust absorbs and deflects this light and distorts our view of the visible universe. However, the mechanism of dust formation in SNe and reprocessing in the interstellar medium is complex, likely producing regions in galaxies with different dust properties. I will discuss current 'dusty' challenges and what we have learned from recent observations of dust in SNe and galaxies at various points in cosmic time and how these may impact deriving precise distances from Type Ia supernovae