0
One method was to determine the age of the oldest stars. Our estimates were around 20 billion years for these. Another was to calculate backwards from the expansion rate, which gave us a value of about 12 billion years. These two disparate numbers were ultimately resolved by very precise measurements made by the COBE satellite, and further enhanced by the subsequent WMAP satellite.
We now know the age of our universe to be about 13.8 billion years.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoYou can get an ESTIMATE by observing the expansion of the Universe. Distant galaxies move away from us; the farther away they are, the faster they move away from us. If this movement is extrapolated backwards in time, it turns out that a few billion years ago, they were all very close together.Some adjustments have to be made, since it was found that the rate of expansion of the Universe is not constant - but that's the basic idea.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
When was the formation of the universe?
The Universe has an age estimated to be about 13.8 billion years.
What are very old stars that are studied to estimate the age of the universe?
HD 140283 is the oldest star. Lately estimated to be 14.5 billion years old while the universe's calculated age is just 13.8 billion years old. Of course it's not thought to be older than the universe. There are margins for error in the estimates of its age. It also nicknamed the Methuselah star because it's the oldest known star.
Do scientists still believe the universe will collapse in on itself eventually?
No. It's generally believed that the universe has insufficient mass density to slow or halt its expansion (and in fact, there's some evidence that the rate of expansion is actually increasing due to "dark energy", which is a slightly more academically acceptable way of saying "we don't know what").Excellent answer!The Universe (our universe) will probably end in a «Big RIP» or a «Big Freeze» scenario, after the «Dark Era and Photon Age», about 10100 years from now.Please rememer that after the «Dark Era» age, what happens after this is speculative.There could even occur a new «Big Bang», supereons after the «Dark Era».Or else the «String Theory» is correct, and our universe is a «membane», or «Brane», and may collide with another «brane» sooner, creating a new universe, God nows what type of universe would be created...
How can you evaluate the main theory of how the universe was formed?
By "main" theory I presume you mean Big Bang Cosmology. You can evaluate it by repeating the following tests, all of which have been repeated thousands of times: 1) See how well Hubble's Law holds. 2) Calculate the age of our Universe with Hubble's Law. 3) Check for isotropic radiation from space, with a spectrum identical to a black body with temp 3 K. 4) Look for white dwarf stars older than the age you computed in (2). 5) Examine the ratio of long lived isotopes to their decay products, and see if any decays show radioactivity occuring for longer than the age you computed in (2). 6) Check the ratio of hydrogen to deuterium to helium to lithium in all parts of our Universe, and compare these ratio to that predicted by Big Bang Cosmology. 7) Search for nearby quasars. If the "recent" (ie, the last three billion years or so) Universe is pretty much the same as the older Universe, then there should be as many quasars nearby as there are ones far away. As you can probably guess, all of these tests show that our Universe has been expanding from an immensely more dense and hot state since about 13.7 billion years ago. As of 2012, no observation exists that is in contradiction to that statement.
What is the motto of Incredible Universe?
The motto of Incredible Universe is 'If it's not in the Universe, it doesn't exist!'.
What is one way scientist use to calculate the age of the universe?
Measure the distance from Earth to nearby stars.
How large did Einstein calculate the universe to be?
Einstein never made any such calculation. Even today the total size of our Universe is speculative at best. Einstein speculated it was infinite in both size and age.
Describe Two ways scientists calculate the age of the universe?
by using the distance from Earth to various galaxies and by calculating the ages of old, nearby stars.
How can they estimate the number of atoms in the universe?
The no. of atoms in the Universe is not estimated yet because till now we are not able to calculate the amount of matter present in the universe and what is the exact percentage of each element in the universe. Once it is calculated, scientists would be able to calculate the no. of atoms in the universe.
How can scientists calculate the age of the universe using red shift?
The basic idea is to extrapolate the movement of galaxies into the past: at a certain moment, they were very close together.
When was the formation of the universe?
The Universe has an age estimated to be about 13.8 billion years.
What is another term for universe?
that portion of the universe that we can see in principle, given the finite age of the universe
The age of universe is 1010 years and the age of mankind is 106 years For how many seconds would the mankind have existed if the age of universe was 1 day?
9075.6
Who first attempted to calculate the age of the universe?
Probably some caveman somewhere. That's a little facetious, but it makes the point: ATTEMPTING it is easy, actually DOING it is a bit more difficult.
If the universe was expanding with 0 acceleration what would the age of the universe be?
The universe simply cant expand at 0 acceleration.
Why is the age of the universe estimated to be 13.5 Billon years?
Because that is how old the universe is believed to be
What do scientist tell us about the age of the universe and the age of the planet?
The universe is 13.7 billion years old & Earth is 4.5 billion years old.
