2007-03-21 05:09:43 · 18 answers · asked by nithi 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
C B S gave a very good answer to your question, but a bit on the technical side. A simpler explanation for how we measure the age of the universe is this:
An estimate for the age of the universe is obtained by the analysis of light from distant galaxies passed through a prism. When you pass light through a prism, the prism separates the wavelengths of light into bands of color. If you shine light through hydrogen gas, for example, you get a distintive "signature" of color bands, so scientists can recognize the element hydrogen by the unique color band signature it produces when light from it is passed through a prism.
Something interesting happens when you pass light from very distant objects through a prism. We see the signature of hydrogen, but it is shifted towards the color "red" and scientists will say that the distant object is "red shifted." This is caused by the Doppler effect - the similar effect that when a train is speeding towards you and blows its horn, it is high-pitched, and as it speeds away from you the sound gets lower, even though the engineer on the train will hear the same pitch throughout. With light, it is red-shifted when speeding away, and blue-shifted when speeding towards you. If you look at a picture of the Andromeda Galaxy, you can see one end is reddish and the other side is blueish. That's because it is rotating and one end is turning towards the earth while the other side is turning away from the earth.
Anyway, the further out one looks, the more the light is red shifted. Through calculations, astronomers can determine a rough distance of something by how fast it is receding.
A scientist named Edwin Hubble (which we named our space telescope after) figured out that the rate of recession of distant objects is directly proportional to their distance. With the Hubble space telescope we can see at least 12 billion light years into deep space, and we can see very early galaxies (quasars) at that distance out. It is estimated that the universe is yet another 1.7 billion years older than we can see, so it puts the current estimate at 13.7 billion years.
One estimate of the Hubble constant yields a current value of 13.7 billion years for the age of the universe.
2007-03-21 05:51:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The age of the universe, according to the Big Bang theory, is the time elapsed between the Big Bang and the present day. The current scientific consensus holds this to be about 13.7 billion years.
That is, the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, with an uncertainty of 200 million years. However, this age is based on the assumption that the project's underlying model is correct; other methods of estimating the age of the universe could give different ages.
This measurement is made by using the location of the first acoustic peak in the microwave background power spectrum to determine the size of the decoupling surface (size of universe at the time of recombination). The light travel time to this surface (depending on the geometry used) yields a reliable age for the universe. Assuming the validity of the models used to determine this age, the residual accuracy yields a margin of error near one percent.
2007-03-21 05:22:12 · answer #2 · answered by C B S 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the huge Bang concept, it is an thought the says that numerous atoms and debris got here to assemble and then exploded and each and all of the celebs and planets have been shaped. This concept besides the shown fact that would not state how the universe grow to be shaped, the universe had no initiating and could have no end. It states how the planets, stars, galaxies, etc. might have probable been shaped. additionally it ability that the universe is for ever increasing, that's getting extra effective and extra effective. yet lower back that's barely an thought no longer a regulation or concept which ability it ought to ok be genuine yet we don't understand for a actuality.
2016-10-02 12:32:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The origin of universe took place around 15 billion years ago with the big bang and the universe has been expanding ever since.
2007-03-22 06:08:02 · answer #4 · answered by Ram 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Currently, science does not have an answer to this question. Some people mistakenly believe that the big bang was the beginning of the universe, but there is no evidence for this. People often assume that the big bang, the beginning of space-time, was also the beginning of the universe, but that is only speculation without real evidence to support it.
2007-03-21 05:29:51 · answer #5 · answered by Fred 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Our universe has no Beginning and no End. It is ENDLESS.
Our universe began with Big-Bang and afterwards it is just Expanding...
It began for about 14 billion years ago..and then it goes to INFINITY
2007-03-21 23:00:28 · answer #6 · answered by PearL 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the universe began some time [about 10 to the minus 95 of a second] from zero
2007-03-21 05:37:04 · answer #7 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
There is that 'big bang' theory which says that initially the universe was very compact and then there was en explosion and it came apart and kept on expanding which it is today. Thus, the universe began.
2007-03-21 05:17:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
When you say "the universe", do you mean this universe (14.5 Billion years old), or do you mean "the universe" that this universe is just a fragment of (absolute infinity)?
2007-03-21 06:22:51 · answer #9 · answered by highlander 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
About 14 billion years ago.
And just a hint, if you had typed this exact question in yahoo.com or google, you would have gotten an answer in less than a second.
2007-03-21 05:12:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋