An important role in determining the age of the Universe is played by identifying the stages of its development from the beginning big bang.

Evolution of the Universe and stages of its development

Today it is customary to distinguish the following phases of the development of the Universe:

  1. Planck time is a period from 10 -43 to 10 -11 seconds. In this short period of time, scientists believe, gravitational force“separated” from the rest of the interaction forces.
  2. The epoch of quark birth is from 10 -11 to 10 -2 seconds. During this period, the birth of quarks and the separation of known physical strength interactions.
  3. The modern era began 0.01 seconds after the Big Bang and continues today. During this period of time, all elementary particles, atoms, molecules, stars and galaxies were formed.

It is worth noting that an important period in the development of the Universe is considered to be the time when it became transparent to radiation - three hundred and eighty thousand years after the Big Bang.

Methods for determining the age of the Universe

How old is the universe? Before trying to figure this out, it is worth noting that her age is calculated from the moment of the Big Bang. Today, no one can say with complete confidence how many years ago the Universe appeared. If you look at the trend, over time scientists come to the conclusion that its age is older than previously thought.

The latest calculations by scientists show that the age of our Universe is 13.75±0.13 billion years. According to some experts, the final figure may be revised in the near future and adjusted to fifteen billion years.

The modern method of estimating the age of outer space is based on the study of “ancient” stars, clusters and undeveloped space objects. The technology for calculating the age of the Universe is a complex and capacious process. We will consider only some principles and methods of calculations.

Massive star clusters

In order to determine how old the Universe is, scientists explore areas of space with large concentrations of stars. Being in approximately the same area, the bodies are of similar age. The simultaneous birth of stars allows scientists to determine the age of the cluster.

Using the theory of “star evolution”, they build graphs and carry out multilinear calculations. Data from objects with the same age but different masses are taken into account.

Based on the results obtained, it is possible to determine the age of the cluster. Having previously calculated the distance to the group star cluster, scientists determine the age of the Universe.

Have you been able to accurately determine how old the Universe is? According to scientists' calculations, the result turned out to be ambiguous - from 6 to 25 billion years. Unfortunately, this method It has a large number of difficulties. Therefore there is a serious error.

Ancient inhabitants of space

In order to understand how long the Universe has existed, scientists observe white dwarfs in globular clusters. They are the next evolutionary link after the red giant.

During the transition from one stage to another, the weight of the star remains virtually unchanged. White dwarfs do not have thermonuclear fusion, so they emit light due to accumulated heat. If you know the relationship between temperature and time, you can determine the age of the star. The age of the most ancient cluster is estimated at about 12-13.4 billion years. However this method associated with the difficulty of observing fairly weak radiation sources. Highly sensitive telescopes and equipment are needed. To solve this problem, the powerful Hubble Space Telescope is used.

The primordial "soup" of the Universe

In order to determine how old the Universe is, scientists observe objects made of primordial substance. They have survived to this day thanks to the slow rate of evolution. Exploring chemical composition similar objects, scientists compare it with data on thermonuclear physics. Based on the results obtained, the age of the star or cluster is determined. Scientists conducted two independent studies. The result turned out to be quite similar: according to the first - 12.3-18.7 billion years and according to the second - 11.7-16.7.

The Expanding Universe and Dark Matter

There are a large number of models for determining the age of the Universe, but the results are highly controversial. Today there is a more accurate way. It is based on the fact that outer space has been constantly expanding since the Big Bang.

Originally the space was smaller, with the same amount of energy as it is now.

According to scientists, over time, the photon “loses” energy, and the wavelength increases. Based on the properties of photons and the presence of black matter, we calculated the age of our Universe. Scientists were able to determine the age of outer space; it was 13.75±0.13 billion years. This method of calculation is called Lambda-Cold Dark Matter - a modern cosmological model.

The result may be wrong

However, no scientist claims that this result is accurate. This model includes many conditional assumptions that are taken as a basis. However, at the moment this method of determining the age of the Universe is considered the most accurate. In 2013, it was possible to determine the expansion rate of the Universe - the Hubble constant. It was 67.2 kilometers per second.

Using more accurate data, scientists have determined that the age of the Universe is 13 billion 798 million years.

However, we understand that in the process of determining the age of the Universe, generally accepted models were used (spherically flat shape, the presence of cold dark matter, the speed of light as a maximum constant). If our assumptions about generally accepted constants and models turn out to be erroneous in the future, this will entail a recalculation of the data obtained.

    There is a unique relationship between the age of the Universe and its expansion during the creation of its history.

    In other words, if we could measure the expansion of the Universe today and how it has expanded throughout its history, we would know exactly what the different components make it up. We learned this from a number of observations, including:

    1. Direct measurements of the brightness and distance of objects in the Universe such as stars, galaxies and supernovae, which allowed us to build a ruler of cosmic distances.
    2. Measurements of large-scale structure, galaxy clustering and baryonic acoustic oscillations.
    3. Oscillations in the microwave cosmic background, a kind of “snapshot” of the Universe when it was only 380,000 years old.

    You put it all together and you get a Universe that today is 68% dark energy, 27% of dark matter, 4.9% from ordinary matter, 0.1% from neutrinos, 0.01% from radiation, and all sorts of little things.

    Then you look at the expansion of the Universe today and extrapolate it back in time, piecing together the history of the expansion of the Universe, and therefore its age.

    We get a figure - most accurately from Planck, but supplemented by other sources like supernova measurements, the key HST project and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - the age of the Universe, 13.81 billion years, give or take 120 million years. We are 99.1 percent sure of the age of the universe, which is pretty cool.

    We have a number of different data sets that point to this conclusion, but they are, in fact, obtained using a single method. We're just lucky that there's a consistent picture with all the points pointing in the same direction, but in reality it's impossible to accurately tell the age of the Universe. All these points offer different probabilities, and somewhere at the intersection our opinion about the age of our world is born.

    If the Universe had the same properties, but consisted of 100% ordinary matter (that is, without dark matter or dark energy), our Universe would be only 10 billion years old. If the Universe consisted of 5% ordinary matter (without dark matter and dark energy), and the Hubble constant was 50 km/s/Mpc rather than 70 km/s/Mpc, our Universe would be 16 billion years old. With the combination of all this, we can almost certainly say that the age of the Universe is 13.81 billion years. Finding out this figure is a huge feat for science.

    This method of finding out is rightfully the best. He is the main one, the most confident, the most complete and has been verified by many different pieces of evidence pointing to him. But there is another method, and it is very useful for checking our results.

    It comes down to the fact that we know how stars live, how they burn their fuel and die. In particular, we know that all stars, while they live and burn through the main fuel (synthesizing helium from hydrogen), have a certain brightness and color, and remain at these specific indicators for a specific period of time: until the fuel runs out in the cores.

    At this point, bright, blue, and massive stars begin to evolve into giants or supergiants.

    By looking at these points in a cluster of stars that formed at the same time, we can find out - if, of course, we know how stars work - the age of the stars in the cluster. Looking at old globular clusters, we find that these stars most often came to life about 13.2 billion years ago. (However, there are small deviations of a billion years).

    An age of 12 billion years is quite common, but an age of 14 billion years or more is something strange, although there was a period in the 90s when an age of 14-16 billion years was mentioned quite often. (Improved understanding of stars and their evolution has significantly lowered these numbers.)

    So we have two methods - space history and measurements of local stars - which indicate that the age of our Universe is 13-14 billion years. It will not surprise anyone if the age is clarified to 13.6 or even 14 billion years, but it is unlikely to be 13 or 15. If you are asked, say that the age of the Universe is 13.8 billion years, there will be no complaints against you.

The age of the Universe is the maximum time that a clock would measure since big bang until now, if they fell into our hands now. This estimate of the age of the Universe, like other cosmological estimates, comes from cosmological models based on the determination of the Hubble constant and other observable parameters of the Metagalaxy. There is also a non-cosmological method for determining the age of the Universe (at least in three ways). It is noteworthy that all these estimates of the age of the Universe are consistent with each other. They also all require accelerated expansion Universe (that is, not zero lambda member), otherwise the cosmological age turns out to be too small. New data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) powerful Planck satellite show that The age of the universe is 13.798 billion years (“plus or minus” 0.037 billion years, all this is said in Wikipedia).

The indicated age of the Universe ( IN= 13.798.000.000 years) is not at all difficult to convert into seconds:

1 year = 365(days)*24(hours)*60(minutes)*60(sec) = 31,536,000 sec;

This means that the age of the Universe will be equal to

IN= 13.798.000.000 (years)*31.536.000 (sec) = 4.3513*10^17 seconds. By the way, the result obtained allows us to “feel” what it means – a number of the order of 10^17 (that is, the number 10 must be multiplied by itself 17 times). This seemingly small degree (only 17) actually hides behind it a gigantic period of time (13.798 billion years), which is almost escaping our imagination. So, if the entire age of the Universe is “compressed” to one earthly year (mentally imagine as 365 days), then on this time scale: simplest life was born on Earth 3 months ago; exact sciences appeared no more than 1 second ago, and a person’s life (70 years) is a moment equal to 0.16 seconds.

However, a second is still a huge time for theoretical physics, mentally(using mathematics) studying space-time on extremely small scales - down to dimensions of the order of Planck length (1.616199*10^−35 m). This length is minimum possible in physics, “quantum” distances, that is, what happens on an even smaller scale, have not yet been invented by physicists (there are no generally accepted theories), perhaps a completely different physics is already “working” there, with laws unknown to us. It is also appropriate to say here that in our (super complex and very expensive) experiments physicists have so far penetrated “only” to a depth of about 10^-18 meters (this is 0.000...01 meters, where there are 17 zeros after the decimal point). The Planck length is the distance that a photon (quantum) of light travels in Planck time (5.39106*10^−44 sec) – minimum possible in physics there is a “quantum” of time. Physicists also have a second name for Planck time: elementary time interval (Evi – I will also use this convenient abbreviation below). Thus, for theoretical physicists, 1 second is a colossal number of Planck times ( Evi):

1 second = 1/(5.39106*10^−44) = 1.8549*10^43 Evi.

In this time O On a scale, the age of the Universe becomes a number that we can no longer somehow imagine:

IN= (4.3513*10^17 sec) * (1.8549*10^43 Evi) = 8,07*10^60 Evi.

Why did I say above that Theoretical physicists study spacetime ? The fact is that space-time is two sides single structures (mathematical descriptions of space and time are similar to each other), which are crucial for constructing a physical picture of the world, our Universe. In modern quantum theory it is space-time is given a central role, there are even hypotheses where the substance (including you and me, dear reader) is considered nothing more than... disturbance this basic structure. Visible 92% of the matter in the Universe consists of hydrogen atoms, and the average density of visible matter is estimated as 1 hydrogen atom in 17 cubic meters space (this is the volume of a small room). That is, as has already been proven in physics, our Universe is an almost “empty” space-time, which is continuous expanding And discretely on Planck scales, that is, on dimensions of the order of the Planck length and in time intervals of the order Evi(on a scale accessible to humans, time flows “continuously and smoothly”, and we do not notice any expansion).

And then one day (back at the end of 1997) I thought that the discreteness and expansion of space-time is best “modeled” ... by a series natural numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ... The discreteness of this series is beyond doubt, but its “expansion” can be explained by the following representation: 0, 1, 1+1, 1+1+1, 1+1+1+1, … . Thus, if numbers are identified with Planck time, then the number series turns into a kind of flow of time quanta (space-time). As a result, I came up with a whole theory, which I called virtual cosmology , and which “discovered” the most important physical parameters of the Universe “inside” the world of numbers (we will consider specific examples below).

As one would expect, official cosmology and physics responded to all my (written) appeals to them with absolute silence. And the irony of the current moment, quite possibly, is that number theory(as a branch of higher mathematics that studies the natural series) has literally the only practical application - this is... cryptography. That is, numbers (and very large ones, on the order of 10^300) are used for message encryption(transmitting, for the most part, the purely mercantile interests of people). And at the same time the world of numbers itself is a kind of encrypted message about the fundamental laws of the universe- this is exactly what my virtual cosmology claims and makes attempts to “decipher the messages” of the world of numbers. However, it goes without saying that the most intriguing “decoding” would come from theoretical physicists if they once looked at the world of numbers without professional prejudices...

So, here is a key hypothesis from the latest version of virtual cosmology: Plackow time is equivalent to the number e = 2.718 ... (number “e”, base natural logarithms). Why exactly the number “e” and not one (as I thought before)? The fact is that it is the number “e” that equals the minimum possible positive value of the functionE = N / ln N - the main function in my theory. If in this function the exact equality sign (=) is replaced by the asymptotic equality sign (~, this wavy line is called tilde), then we get the most important law of the well-known number theory– law of distribution prime numbers(2, 3, 5, 7, 11, ... these numbers are only divisible by one and themselves). In number theory, studied by future mathematicians at universities, the parameter E(although mathematicians write a completely different symbol) - this is the approximate number of prime numbers per segment, that is, from 1 to numberNinclusive, and the larger the natural numberN, the more accurately the asymptotic formula works.

It follows from my key hypothesis that in virtual cosmology the age of the Universe is equivalent to at least the number N = 2,194*10^61 is a product of age IN(expressed in Evi, see above) by number e= 2.718. Why I write “at least” will become clear below. Thus, our Universe in the world of numbers is “reflected” by the segment number axis(starting in number e= 2.718...), which contains about 10^61 natural numbers. I called the segment of the numerical axis equivalent (in the indicated sense) to the age of the Universe Large segment .

Knowing the right boundary of the Large segment (N= 2.194*10^61), calculate the quantity prime numbers on this segment:E = N/ln N = 1.55*10^59 (prime numbers). And now, attention!, see also the table and figure (they are below). It is obvious that prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, ...) have their serial numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ..., E) form their own segment of the natural series, which also contains simple numbers, that is, numbers in the form of prime numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, …. Here we will assume that 1 is the first prime number, because sometimes in mathematics they do this, and we may be considering just the case where this turns out to be very important. We will also apply a similar formula to the segment of all numbers (from prime and composite numbers):K = E/ln E, Where K– this is the quantity prime numbers on the segment. And we will also introduce a very important parameter:K / E = 1/ ln E is the ratio of the quantity (K) prime numbers to quantity (E) of all numbers on the segment. It's clear that parameter 1/ lnE has a sense of probability encounters with a prime number near a prime number on a segment. Let's calculate this probability: 1/ln E = 1/ ln (1.55*10^59) = 0.007337 and we find that it is only 0.54% more than the value... constant fine structure (PTS = 0.007297352569824…).

PTS is a fundamental physical constant, and dimensionless, that is, PTS makes sense probabilities some extremely important event for His Majesty (all other fundamental physical constants have dimensions: seconds, meters, kg, ...). The fine structure constant has always been an object of fascination for physicists. Outstanding American theoretical physicist, one of the founders of quantum electrodynamics, laureate Nobel Prize in physics Richard Feynman (1918 – 1988) called PTS “ one of the greatest damned secrets of physics: magic number which comes to us without any human understanding of it" A large number of attempts have been made to express PTS in terms of pure mathematical quantities or calculated based on some physical considerations (see Wikipedia). So in this article, in fact, I present my understanding of the nature of PTS (removing the veil of mystery from it?).

So, above, within the framework of virtual cosmology, we received almost PTS value. If you move (increase) the right border a little (N) of a large segment, then the number ( E) prime numbers on this segment, and the probability is 1/ln E will decrease to the “cherished” PTS value. So, it turns out that it is enough to increase the age of our Universe by only 2.1134808791 times (almost 2 times, which is not much, see below) to get an exact hit on the PTS value: taking the right boundary of the Greater segment equal toN= 4.63704581852313*10^61, we get the probability 1/ln E, which is less than PTS by only 0.0000000000013%. The right boundary of the Great segment indicated here is equivalent to, say, PTS age The universe is 29,161,809,170 years old (almost 29 billion years ). Of course, the figures I obtained here are not dogma (the figures themselves may change slightly), since it was important for me to explain the very course of my reasoning. Moreover, I am far from the first who came (to my unprecedented by) to the need to “double” the age of the Universe. For example, in the book of the famous Russian scientist M.V. Sazhin “ Modern cosmology in the popular presentation" (M.: Editorial URSS, 2002) literally says the following (on page 69): “...Estimates of the age of the Universe are changing. If 90% of the total density of the Universe is accounted for by a new type of matter (lambda term), and 10% is by ordinary matter, then The age of the Universe turns out to be almost twice as large! » (bold italics mine).

Thus, if you believe virtual cosmology, then in addition to purely “physical” definitions of PTS (there are also several of them), this fundamental “constant” (for me, generally speaking, it decreases with time) can also be defined this way (without false modesty, I note that more graceful I have never encountered a mathematical interpretation of the nature of PTS). Fine structure constant (PTS) is the probability that a randomly taken serial number prime number he will be on the segment prime number. And the specified probability will be:

PTS = 1/ln( N / ln N ) = 1/( ln N – lnln N ) . (1)

At the same time, we must not forget that formula (1) “works” relatively accurately for sufficiently large numbersN, say, at the end of the Big Segment it is quite suitable. But at the very beginning (at the emergence of the Universe), this formula gives underestimated results (dashed line in the figure, see also table)

Virtual cosmology (as well as theoretical physics) tells us that PTS is not a constant at all, but “simply” the most important parameter of the Universe, changing over time. So, according to my theory, the PTS at the birth of the Universe was equal to one, and then, according to formula (1), it decreased to modern meaning PTS = 0.007297… . With the inevitable demise of our Universe (in 10^150 years, which is equivalent to the right boundaryN= 10^201) PTS will decrease from the current value by almost 3 times and become equal to 0.00219.

If formula (1) (accurate “hit” in the PTS) was my only “trick” in terms of numerology(of which professional scientists are still absolutely sure), then I would not repeat with such persistence that the world of natural numbers is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ... (in particular, its main lawE = N/ln N ) is a kind of “mirror” of our Universe (and even... any universe), helping us to “decipher” the most important secrets of the universe. All my articles and books are interesting not only psychologists who can thoroughly trace (in their candidate and doctoral works) the entire path of the ascent of an isolated mind (I practically did not communicate with literate people) - the ascent to the Truth or the fall into the deepest abyss of Self-Deception. My works contain a lot of new factual material (new ideas and hypotheses) on number theory, and also contain very interesting mathematical model space-time, analogues of which certainly exist, but only in... distant exoplanets, where the mind has already discovered the natural series 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ... - the most obvious abstract Truth given everyone to a sophisticated mind any universe.

As another justification, I’ll tell you about another “trick” of my numerology. Square (S) under the graph of the functionE = N/ln N (I repeat, the main function of the world of numbers!), is expressed by the following formula:S = (N/2)^2 (this is the 4th part of the area of ​​a square with a side equal to the numberN). At the same time, at the end PTS th Large segment(atN= 4.637*10^61) the reciprocal of this area (1/S), will be numerically equal... cosmological constant or (just a second name) lambda member L= 10^–53 m^–2, expressed in Planck units ( Evi): L= 10^–53 m^–2 = 2.612*10^–123 Evi^–2 and this, I emphasize, is only grade L(physicists do not know the exact value). And virtual cosmology claims that the cosmological constant (lambda term) is a key parameter of the Universe, decreasing with time approximately according to this law:

L = 1/ S = (2/ N )^2 . (2)

According to formula (2) at the end of the PTS-th Big segment we get the following:L = ^2 = 1,86*10^–123 (Evi^–2) – this is it... true meaning cosmological constant (?).

Instead of a conclusion. If anyone can point me to another formula (besidesE = N/ln N ) and another mathematical object (except for the elementary series of natural numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ...), which lead to the same beautiful numerological “tricks” (so many and accurately “copying” the real physical world in its various aspects) - then I am ready to publicly admit that I am at the very bottom of the abyss of Self-Deception. To make his “verdict”, the reader can refer to all my articles and books posted on the portal (website) “Techno Community of Russia” under the pseudonym iav 2357 ( see the following link:

There are a lot of guesses about how old the Universe is at the moment. It is now impossible to answer the question about her age with one hundred percent certainty. And it is unlikely that we will ever be able to find an exact answer to it. But scientists have conducted a lot of research and calculations, so now this topic has more or less clear outlines.

Definition

Before starting the story about how old the Universe is, it is worth making a reservation: its age is counted from the moment when it began to expand.

To clarify these data, a ΛCDM model was created. Scientists claim that it can predict the moments of the beginning of various eras. But you can also find out how old the Universe is by finding the oldest objects, by calculating their age.

In addition, periodization plays a huge role. In our time, there are three eras about which certain information is known. The first one is the earliest. It is called Planck time (10 -43 s after the origin of the Big Bang). According to scientists, this period lasted up to 10-11 s. The next epoch lasted until 10 -2 s. It is characterized by the appearance of quark particles - this is a component of hadrons, that is elementary particles, involved in nuclear interactions.

And the last era is modern. It began 0.01 seconds after the Big Bang. And in fact, the modern era continues to this day.

In general, according to modern data, the Universe is now 13.75 billion years old. Adjustment allowed (±0.11 billion).

Calculation methods taking into account cool stars

There is another way to find out how old the universe is. And it consists of monitoring the glow of so-called white dwarfs. They represent celestial bodies very high temperature, rather small in size. About the size of the Earth. They represent the last stage of the existence of any star. Except for those that are gigantic in size. It turns into a star after all its thermonuclear fuel is burned. Before this, it still undergoes some cataclysms. For example, it becomes a red giant for some time.

And how can you find out how old the Universe is using white dwarfs? Not to say it’s easy, but scientists can do it. Dwarfs burn their hydrogen very slowly, so their lifespan can reach hundreds of millions of years. And all this time they glow thanks to the accumulated energy. And at the same time they cool down. And scientists, calculating the rate of their cooling, determine the amount of time that a star needs to reduce its temperature from its original temperature (usually it is 150,000 K). To calculate how old the Universe has been, we need to find the coolest white dwarfs. At the moment, we have managed to find stars with a temperature of 4000 K. Scientists, having carefully studied all the data taking into account this information, assure that our Universe cannot be older than 15 billion years.

Study of globular clusters of stars

It is worth turning to this method when talking about how old the Universe is, according to scientists. These clusters are located in the peripheral zone Milky Way. And they rotate around its core. And determining the date of their formation helps to determine the lower limit of the age of our Universe.

The method is technically complex. However, at its core lies the simplest idea. After all, all clusters appear from one cloud. So they arise, one might say, at the same time. And over a certain period of time, hydrogen is burned in certain quantities. How does it all end? The appearance white dwarf or the formation of a neutron star.

A few years ago, research of this kind conducted by astronauts using the ACS camera on the space telescope known as Hubble. So, according to scientists' calculations, how old is the Universe? The astronauts figured out the answer, and it matches the official data. The clusters they studied averaged 12.8 billion years old. The “oldest” one turned out to be 13.4 billion.

About cosmic rhythms

Here, in general, is what we were able to find out from the calculations of scientists. It is impossible to know exactly how old the Universe is, but more approximate information can be found by paying attention to cosmic rhythms. They were studied by the Explorer 80 probe about 15 years ago. Temperature fluctuations were taken into account and without going into details, it was possible to find out that our Universe is most likely 13.5-14 billion years old.

In general, everything may be far from what we assume. After all, space is an amazingly vast and almost unknown space. But the good news is that his research is actively continuing.

How old is our Universe? More than one generation of astronomers has been puzzled by this question and will continue to puzzle for many years until the mystery of the universe is solved.

As is known, already in 1929, cosmologists from North America established that the Universe is growing in its volume. Or, speaking in astronomical language, it has a constant expansion. The author of the metric expansion of the Universe is the American Edwin Hubble, who derived constant value, characterizing the steady increase in outer space.

So how old is the universe? Ten years ago, it was believed that its age was within 13.8 billion years. This estimate was obtained based on a cosmological model based on the Hubble constant. However, today a more accurate answer to the age of the Universe has been obtained, thanks to the painstaking work of the ESA (European Space Agency) observatory staff and the advanced Planck telescope.

Scanning outer space with the Planck telescope

The telescope was put into active operation back in May 2009 to determine the most accurate possible age of our Universe. The functionality of the Planck telescope was aimed at a long session of scanning outer space, with the goal of creating the most objective picture of the radiation of all possible stellar objects resulting from the so-called Big Bang.

The lengthy scanning process was carried out in two stages. In 2010 we received preliminary results research, and already in 2013 they summed up the final results of space exploration, which gave a number of very interesting results.

The result of ESA research work

ESA scientists have published interesting materials in which, based on the data collected by the “eye” of the Planck telescope, they were able to clarify the Hubble constant. It turns out that the expansion rate of the Universe is 67.15 kilometers per second per parsec. To make it clearer, one parsec is the cosmic distance that can be covered in 3.2616 of our light years. For greater clarity and perception, you can imagine two galaxies that repel each other at a speed of about 67 km/s. The numbers are tiny on a cosmic scale, but nevertheless, this is an established fact.

Thanks to the data collected by the Planck telescope, it was possible to clarify the age of the Universe - it is 13.798 billion years.

Image obtained based on data from the Planck telescope

This research ESA led to clarification of the content in the Universe mass fraction not only “ordinary” physical matter, which is equal to 4.9%, but also dark matter, which is now equal to 26.8%.

Along the way, Planck revealed and confirmed the existence in the distant outer space the so-called cold spot, which has a super low temperature, for which there are no clear scientific explanations yet.

Other ways to estimate the age of the Universe

In addition to cosmological methods, you can find out how old the Universe is, for example, by age chemical elements. The phenomenon of radioactive decay will help with this.

Another way is to estimate the age of stars. Having assessed the brightness of the oldest stars - white dwarfs, a group of scientists in 1996 received the result: the age of the Universe cannot be less than 11.5 billion years. This confirms the data on the age of the Universe obtained on the basis of the refined Hubble constant.