What are new standard candles?

New standard candles are tools scientists use to measure how far away things are in space, like rulers but for stars and galaxies.

Imagine you have a flashlight that always shines the same brightness no matter how far away it is. If you know how bright it is from close by, you can tell how far away it is just by seeing how dim it looks, like figuring out how far your friend is from you based on how small their flashlight seems.

A standard candle is something in space that has the same brightness as other similar things. Scientists use these to measure distances across the universe, kind of like using a known flashlight to tell how far away another flashlight is, even if it's on a different planet or galaxy.

Think about your bedroom light. If you know how bright it is when you're right next to it, and then you see that same light from across the room, you can guess how far away you are just by how dim it looks. That’s exactly what scientists do, but with stars!