The universe is supposed to be approximately 13.8 billion years old, but a new study by researchers suggests that it could be up to 1.2 billion years younger than that.
The research analyzed “observable measurements” of Earth compared to 50 different galaxies and modified the Hubble Constant (H0) to reach the new era. The experts used a new method to reconfigure the Tully-Fisher approach, used to measure light in the universe, to reach their conclusion.
“The distance scale problem, as is known, is incredibly difficult because the distances to galaxies are enormous and the signals for their distances are weak and difficult to calibrate,” said the University of Oregon physicist and lead author. from the study, Jim Schombert, in a statement.
This image made available by the European Space Agency shows galaxies at Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2012, an improved version of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image. A study published on September 12, 2019 uses a new technique to obtain a rate of expansion of the universe that is almost 18 percent higher than the amount that scientists have been using since 2000. (Credit: NASA, ESA , R Ellis (Caltech), HUDF Team 2012 via AP)
UNIVERSE COULD BE 2 BILLION YEARS LESS, SAYS AN AWESOME STUDY
With the new calculations, the H0, which measures the rate of expansion of the universe, is now 75.1, which would indicate that the universe is approximately 12.6 billion years old. At 13.8 billion years old, Hubble Constant was 70 years old.
While Schombert’s approach gives a markedly different figure for the age of the universe than has been commonly used, it is not the only approach to give different figures. In the 1990s, there was a simmering astronomical debate about the age of the universe that was thought to have been resolved.
Scientists estimate the age of the universe using the motion of the stars to measure how fast it is expanding. If the universe expands faster, that means it reached its current size more quickly, and therefore must be relatively younger.
GALAXY GROUP 13 BILLION YEARS OF EARTH CAUSING ‘COSMIC CAST’
In 2013, a team of European scientists examined leftover radiation from the Big Bang and delivered a slower rate of expansion of 67. In 2019, Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute used NASA’s super telescope and got a number of 74. And another team earlier this year got 73.3.
Traditionally, the Hubble Constant has been set to 75, but another approach to measuring light in the universe, the Cosmic Microwave Approach, sets it to 67. However, Schombert noted that the two measurements should still reach the same age as universe.
A RARE COSMIC COLLISION COULD LET SCIENTISTS CALCULATE THE PRECISE AGE OF THE UNIVERSE
“The tension in the field is caused by the fact that it is not,” he added. “This difference is far outside the observation errors and produced great friction in the cosmological community.”
However, more research is needed to gain a better understanding of the age of the universe and the physics involved, Schombert explained.
“Our resulting value is at the top of the different schools of cosmology, indicating that our understanding of the physics of the universe is incomplete, with hope for new physics in the future.”
The study was published in the Astronomical Journal.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
