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Which type of stars did scientists study to estimate the age of the universe?
WMAP Can Measure the Age of the Universe As of 2013, WMAP determined these parameters with an accuracy of better than than 1.5%. In turn, knowing the composition with this precision, we can estimate the age of the universe to about 0.4%: 13.77 ± 0.059 billion years!
What is the most old star?
List of oldest stars
| Name | Age (in billions of years) | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| HD 140283 or the Methuselah Star | 13.7 ± 0.7 | 200 ly |
| 2MASS J18082002-5104378 B | 13.53 | 1950 ly |
| BD +17° 3248 | 13.8 ± 4 | 968 ly |
| SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 | 13.6 | 6000 ly |
How do we calculate the age of the oldest stars?
“It is impossible to determine the age of a single star all by itself. The only real means we have to determine stellar ages is through the study of star clusters. In our galaxy, the Milky Way, there are two basic types of star cluster.
What would your estimate be for the age of the universe?
The universe is (nearly) 14 billion years old, astronomers confirm. With looming discrepancies about the true age of the universe, scientists have taken a fresh look at the observable (expanding) universe and have estimated that it is 13.77 billion years old (plus or minus 40 million years).
How old is the youngest star?
That means the neutron star would be a millennial, no older than 33. If confirmed, it would be the youngest neutron star known to mankind, as Astronomy reports. To date, the youngest supernova remnant is the 330 years old Cassiopeia A, about 11,000 light-years away from Earth inside the Milky Way.
What is the nickname of the oldest star in the universe?
But it also has a nickname — the Methuselah Star. That’s because measurements of its age say it’s at least 13 and a half billion years old, and perhaps a good bit older. Since the universe itself is only about 13. 8 billion years old, that makes the star one of the oldest around.
How old are the Stars in the universe?
These stars are most probably around 15 billion years old, but they could conceivably be as young as 12 billion years or as old as 18 billion years. It is very unlikely that most of them could be either younger or older than this range.
How are astronomers able to determine the age of the universe?
Astronomers estimate the age of the universe in two ways: (a) by looking for the oldest stars; and (b) by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe and extrapolating back to the Big Bang. One way astronomers estimate the age of the universe by studying globular clusters. Globular Clusters are a dense collection of roughly a million stars.
How old is the oldest star cluster in the universe?
The oldest globular clusters contain only stars less massive than 0.7 solar masses. These low mass stars are much dimmer than the Sun. This observation suggests that the oldest globular clusters are between 11 and 18 billion years old.
How is the age of a star determined?
A star like our sun is calculated to have a total stable life-span of around 10 billion years; the sun is now a bit less than half that age (this age is very accurately determined from radioactive elements in meteorites), so we have another five billion years or so before we have to start looking for a new home.