AUloggerhead 2,231 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Previous size & age of universe estimates per NASA As of 2006, the age estimate was 13.7 billion years. A new study now estimates the age of the universe as 26.7 billion years(!) Link 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,140 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Catching up with me....... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUloggerhead 2,231 Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 On 7/17/2023 at 9:53 AM, augolf1716 said: Catching up with me....... I thought it interesting to see the differences in estimated ages over the years with new information coming out. Also considering the changes that have been made in the past, how long will the new 26.7 B figure last? It just goes to show you that the science is never settled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,140 Posted July 19, 2023 Share Posted July 19, 2023 8 hours ago, AUloggerhead said: It just goes to show you that the science is never settled. Agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUDub 11,148 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 On 7/18/2023 at 11:10 PM, AUloggerhead said: It just goes to show you that the science is never settled. Well, it depends. Practically all scientific theory is going to have assumptions built in. Those assumptions can be strong or they can be weak. There's a lot we don't know about cosmology and a better understanding can only be cured with time, better tools and observation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUloggerhead 2,231 Posted July 21, 2023 Author Share Posted July 21, 2023 1 hour ago, AUDub said: Well, it depends. Practically all scientific theory is going to have assumptions built in. Those assumptions can be strong or they can be weak. There's a lot we don't know about cosmology and a better understanding can only be cured with time, better tools and observation. True. I find the whole field of cosmology/astrophysics to be equally fascinating and (at times) incomprehensible. Exhibit A: the abstract of the new study. My simple layman's understanding of this is that new galaxies in deep space observed through the James Webb Space Telescope could not have formed so quickly after the Big Bang -- thus, necessitating the new calculated estimate. Yet just 3 years ago, we have Exhibit B: New study confirms 13.8 B year estimate : Quote ... By using observations from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in Chile, the new findings match the measurements of the Planck satellite data of the same ancient light. The ACT team estimates the age of the universe by measuring its oldest light. Other scientific groups take measurements of galaxies to make universe age estimates. “Now we’ve come up with an answer where Planck and ACT agree,” said Aiola, a researcher at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics in New York City. “It speaks to the fact that these difficult measurements are reliable.” ... I'll be the first to say "I dunno" about which approach to measuring the age of the universe is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUGoo 2,664 Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 On 7/21/2023 at 1:02 PM, AUloggerhead said: True. I find the whole field of cosmology/astrophysics to be equally fascinating and (at times) incomprehensible. Exhibit A: the abstract of the new study. My simple layman's understanding of this is that new galaxies in deep space observed through the James Webb Space Telescope could not have formed so quickly after the Big Bang -- thus, necessitating the new calculated estimate. Yet just 3 years ago, we have Exhibit B: New study confirms 13.8 B year estimate : I'll be the first to say "I dunno" about which approach to measuring the age of the universe is correct. Doesn't matter. It was a long ass time ago and the information changes nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,027 Posted July 24, 2023 Share Posted July 24, 2023 Not only the age, but how large is the universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUloggerhead 2,231 Posted July 24, 2023 Author Share Posted July 24, 2023 16 hours ago, AUGoo said: Doesn't matter. It was a long ass time ago and the information changes nothing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyAU 3,630 Posted July 24, 2023 Share Posted July 24, 2023 We always think we know more than we know...until we figure out we never did. Then we do it again, and again, and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,027 Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 What was before the Big Bang? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUloggerhead 2,231 Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 Forget the Universe (for a moment.) Contemplate just the size of the Milky Way with this short video: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,027 Posted July 29, 2023 Share Posted July 29, 2023 Neat video, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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