Andy Howell, adjunct professor of physics at UCSB and staff scientist at Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, recently published an article about “zombie” stars, so-called because when they die they revive themselves by sucking matter from a companion star. Formally known as Type Ia supernovae, the stars offer insight to the study of dark energy, one of the most profound findings of the last half-century, according to Howell. He is working constantly in an extensive network of observatories, and said he expects to make serious progress through the next decade in “unlocking the darkest secrets of dark energy.”
