We present, when calculating distance ladders, that using the expression H = (km/Mpc)/AU (AU is the age of the universe) to describe the metric expansion of space in a universe with flat curvature, we resolve a baseline expression for the Hubble constant equal to 70.885 km s−1 Mpc−1. We add to this description two physically significant frames. The non-discrete frame represents our existing description of phenomena, while a discrete frame parallels that description, but all phenomena are described as a whole unit count of fundamental units of measure—length, mass, and time—such as the Planck units. We now discuss a property of these frames that affects our understanding of distance ladders. It is shown that Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) studies calculate their results in a way that parallels the non-discrete frame, while Cepheid studies parallel the discrete frame. Using the baseline expression, we show that calculations relative to these two frames have a physically significant offset from the baseline expression. Therefore, we can resolve calculations corresponding to CMB and Cepheid studies such that CMB studies will find rates near 68.261 km s−1 Mpc−1 while Cepheid studies will find rates near 73.510 km s−1 Mpc−1. When compared to the results of the recent SPT-3G and +SH0ES publications, we find a difference from these rates of less than 0.1 km s−1 Mpc−1; this difference is at the precision limit of the studies. We describe the underlying physics, geometry, and mathematical procedures for these calculations, therein offering a resolution to the Hubble tension.

Notably, the solution carries a 3.55σ. Its significance is constrained by the precision of measures offered by the SPT-3G and +SH0ES collaborations, not the MQ calculations. MQ calculated results compared to study measurements are: SPT-3G: (68.261/68.3) km s-1 Mpc-1; +SH0ES: (73.510/73.5) km s-1 Mpc-1.