2011 Nobel Physics Prize winners discovered that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate

This image shows a classic type 1a supernova remnant. Researchers Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess of the United States and US-Australian Brian Schmidt have won the 2011 Nobel Physics Prize for their research on supernovae, the Nobel jury said. "They have studied several dozen exploding stars, called supernovae, and discovered that the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate," it said, adding that their discovery had changed mankind's understanding of the universe.

Picture: NASA/MPIA/CALAR ALTO OBSERVATORY/OLIVER KRAUSE/AFP/Getty