2006-10-26 18:35:15 · 13 answers · asked by posiongirl44 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I saw it in a N.Y. Times op ed column just the other day by Dennis Overbye, the science writer ("Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos"). I think he said it's 13.6 billion years, give or take 150 million years.
They've made a lot of progress in the last several years in dating the universe. I remember when their best guess was "somewhere between 10 and 20 billion years", depending on the value of Hubble's Constant (the rate of the universe's expansion).
Another way to phrase that is, 15 billion, plus or minus 5 billion. So according to Overbye, they've reduced that error estimate from 5,000,000,000 years down to 150,000,000. That's a major improvement.
So your answer is, 13.6 billion, plus or minus 150 million ... said another way, it's between 13.45 and 13.75 billion years old.
2006-10-26 18:50:00 · answer #1 · answered by bpiguy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How Old is the Universe?
It depends upon who you ask. Astronomers have come up with different estimates, but the most widely accepted age is around 15 billion years, or about three times older than the Earth. Astronomers continue to refine their estimates as new observations produce new data.
Astronomers measure the age of the Universe indirectly, by studying the motions of galaxies. By measuring how far away the most distant galaxies are and how fast they appear to be moving, astronomers can calculate the expansion rate of the Universe. The expansion rate tells them how long the galaxies have been traveling since the big bang, and thus provides a rough age for the Universe.
2006-10-26 18:39:48 · answer #2 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to Scientific American magazine, it's aproximately 14 Billion years old. The issue with that story was published in 2001 or 2002.
2006-10-26 18:45:09 · answer #3 · answered by Elliot 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Approximately 16 billion years old, and most astronomers believe the debate is over regarding the big bang, contrary to some of the answers above.
2006-10-26 20:21:56 · answer #4 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one can answer that question, The Earth is 4 or 5 billion years old.
2006-10-26 18:47:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to the Big Bang theory that can't be proven to date, about 10 to 20 billion years old.
2006-10-26 18:43:27 · answer #6 · answered by diamond82 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
14-15 Billion years is the most common in literature as far as I'm aware
2006-10-27 00:08:06 · answer #7 · answered by JBB 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
15 billion years old
2006-10-26 18:42:09 · answer #8 · answered by cork 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 13.7 or 14.7 billion years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Universe
depending on the model used.
2006-10-26 18:40:26 · answer #9 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pretty doggone old
2006-10-26 18:37:03 · answer #10 · answered by John Scary 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋