  Empirically, Type Ia supernovae are the most useful, precise, and mature
tools for determining astronomical distances. Acting as calibrated candles they
revealed the presence of dark energy and are being used to measure its
properties. However, the nature of the SN Ia explosion, and the progenitors
involved, have remained elusive, even after seven decades of research. But now
new large surveys are bringing about a paradigm shift --- we can finally
compare samples of hundreds of supernovae to isolate critical variables. As a
result of this, and advances in modeling, breakthroughs in understanding all
aspects of SNe Ia are finally starting to happen.
