STARS can鈥檛 possibly have formed before the big bang, which is why astronomers have puzzled for decades over data that implies some stars are older than the Universe. 鈥淓ven five years ago we had a factor of two uncertainty,鈥 says Wendy Freeman of the Carnegie Observatories in California. Now new data from the Hubble Space Telescope has resolved the contradiction. Harvey Richer of the University of British Columbia says the measurements imply that the oldest stars formed about one billion years after the big bang, making the whole Universe just under 14 billion years old.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Mind
THC in cannabis may reduce nightmares in people with PTSD
News
Environment
Fishers detonate a bomb every hour on one Indonesian coral reef
News
Environment
How bad is the UK drought and how long will it continue?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles