Astronomers Find Ancient Star Which Appears To Be Older Than The Universe

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  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Scientists have discovered an "impossible" star which appears to be older than the universe.

    The mysterious star Methuselah appears to be between 14 and 15 billion years old - a bit of an issue considering the universe itself is known to have come into existence 13.8 billion years ago.

    Oddly enough, Methuselah is even located inside our own galaxy - about 190 light years away.

    And even after using new information about the star's distance from us, its brightness and its structure, scientists are unable to place an estimate of its age much below 14.5 billion years - still older than the universe.

    Fortunately for the team from Pennsylvania State University and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, there appears to be a margin of error of about 800 million years, or so - enough to just barely place the star below the age of everything else, if peace of mind is important to you.

    Formally known as HD 140283, the star is the oldest object currently known to astronomers.

    It was first discovered a century ago, moving more than 800,000 mph relative to our solar system.

    The star is on a long and looping orbit around the galaxy, and is only briefly passing through Earth's neighbourhood on the western spiral arm.

    In the study published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers said the star was born in a 'dwarf galaxy' which was swallowed by the Milky Way more than 12 billion years ago.

    Using new measurements the team was able to refine its estimate of the star's position, and learn more about its structure.

    The study suggests that further research might bring the age of the star down even further.
    [​IMG]


    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html
     
    SlyPokerDog, Aug 10, 2013
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  2. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Yes but here's the catch. It's in our galaxy; which is supposed to be fairly young.
     
    magnifier661, Aug 10, 2013
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  3. BLAZER PROPHET

    BLAZER PROPHET Well-Known Member

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    How do they tell the age of stars from that distance?

    Stretch marks?
     
    BLAZER PROPHET, Aug 10, 2013
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  4. Further

    Further Guy

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    14.5 billion plus/minus 800,000 years, so current estimates place it as young as 13.7 billion, 100,000 years after the Big Bang at 13.8 billion.

    Interesting though. I think it's amazing they can even come close to dating something 190 light years away.
     
    Further, Aug 10, 2013
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  5. Further

    Further Guy

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    I'm not sure, but some has to due with incandescence and part has to due with the hue or color. I'm sure someone else can answer better than me.
     
    Further, Aug 10, 2013
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  6. crowTrobot

    crowTrobot die comcast

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    There are young stars, but there isn't any such thing as a "young" galaxy. Galaxies were seeded and their initial generation of stars formed just after the big bang.
     
    crowTrobot, Aug 11, 2013
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  7. Further

    Further Guy

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    Cool. I didn't know that. I never really thought about it but that makes sense. Do you know how much time at a minimum a star formation takes?
     
    Further, Aug 11, 2013
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  8. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    How you figure? I remember that galaxies were started from some tremendous energy coming from the center. That energy was measured to determine how old a galaxy was.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, just what I remembered reading years ago.
     
    magnifier661, Aug 11, 2013
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  9. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    magnifier661, Aug 11, 2013
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  10. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Okay I didn't catch that. So our galaxy swallowed this star; which may explain why the star is older than our galaxy.
     
    magnifier661, Aug 11, 2013
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  11. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Google WMAP.

    The image they generated has dark areas that were where the galaxies formed.
     
    Denny Crane, Aug 11, 2013
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  12. Further

    Further Guy

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    Thanks, reading about it now.
     
    Further, Aug 11, 2013
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  13. Further

    Further Guy

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    WMAP - I have read bits and pieces in other articles, but there's some info I ha no idea about. In case anyone else is interested.
    [​IMG]

    http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/

    Some highlights
     
    Further, Aug 11, 2013
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  14. julius

    julius Living on the air in Cincinnati... Staff Member Global Moderator

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    That's one crazy weather radar map
     
    julius, Aug 11, 2013
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  15. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    80% chance of alien.
     
    SlyPokerDog, Aug 11, 2013
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  16. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    So they named this star that seems to be way older than it should be "Methuselah"? I think I would have gone with "Greg Oden", but that's probably just being mean.
     
    e_blazer, Aug 11, 2013
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  17. BLAZER PROPHET

    BLAZER PROPHET Well-Known Member

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    HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
     
    BLAZER PROPHET, Aug 11, 2013
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  18. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    The original article makes no sense.

    Maximum 15 minus .8 > the claimed minimum estimate, 14.5.
    Minimum 14 minus .8 < the Universe's age, 13.8, so the star can be younger than the Universe.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2013
    jlprk, Aug 11, 2013
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  19. Eastoff

    Eastoff But it was a beginning.

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    Yeah, the headline is misleading. Everyone has margins of Error, and it just so happens their margins of error leave the possibility to still be an appropriate age. Nothing revolutionary, but it would be SUPER old nonetheless.
     
    Eastoff, Aug 12, 2013
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  20. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Or could it be that maybe the science has it wrong? It's not hard to imagine, and it doesn't mean it's 100% wrong; but maybe the universe isn't that old? Maybe it's older? Could it be that the size of the universe maybe larger?

    I think its pretty arrogant for the scientific community to believe they have it right, when science itself is used to disprove.
     
    magnifier661, Aug 12, 2013
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