The universe is 13.77 billion years old, according to a new measurement taken using a powerful telescope in Chile.
Why it matters: The exact age of the universe is an important factor for scientists trying to understand the evolution and expansion of the cosmos.
What they found: The Atacama Cosmetology Telescope made the measurement by looking at fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the glow left behind after the big bang formed the universe.
- Researchers used the telescope to create a triangle in the sky, to measure the distances between the earth and two points of interest in the CMB and then extrapolate the distance between the two points.
- Because the universe is expanding, measuring distances gives scientists a sense of how fast change is taking place and therefore the age of the universe.
- The new research is set out in a study conducted in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
The whole picture: Scientists are caught up in a debate about how fast the universe is actually expanding – a number known as the Hubble Constant.
- The dating of the universe to 13.77 billion years corresponds to the age of the universe previously estimated using Planck satellite data, but other methods that measure the distances between stars have dated the universe considerably younger. .
- ‘Now we’ve got an answer where Planck and ACT act [Atacama Cosmology Telescope] agree, “said Simone Aiola, an author of the study, in a statement.” It speaks volumes that these difficult measurements are reliable. “
What’s next: Scientists continue to collect data and verify their analyzes in an effort to resolve the Hubble Constant conflict.
- “The growing tension between these distant and local measurements of the Hubble constant indicates that we are on the verge of a new discovery in cosmology that may change our understanding of the operation of the Universe,” said Michael Niemack. an author of the study, said in the state.