AGE OF THE

by Joscha & Vytenis Table of contents

1. History. 2. Methods. 3. Who does all these measurements? 1. History ✣Late 18th century:

Universe could be millions or billions of years old

Universe is steady and eternal

✣Mid-19th century:

Thermodynamics and Entropy Georges Lemaître (1894-1966)

✣1927: Theory of an expanding universe

✣„Cosmic Egg“ Allan Sandage (1926-2010)

✣ HD 140283 (Methuselah star)

✣ 1964: background

Robert Woodrow Wilson (*1936) and Arno Penzias(*1933) 2. Methods

✣

In 1935 Hubble wrote:

“… the possibility that red-shift may be due to some other cause, connected with the long time or distance involved in the passage of the light from the nebula to observer, should not be prematurely neglected.” 3. Teams behind the age problem Who actually does this? NASA & ESA National Aeronautics and Space Administration European Space Agency SOME RECENT THINGS

NASA: ESA:

Wilkinson Microwave (aka COBRAS and Anisotropy Probe (WMAP or SAMBA) MAP)

2001-2010 2009-2013

13.772±0.059 billion years 13.798±0.037 billion years WMAP by NASA Planck by ESA

Space debris

Rocket bodies 17 %

Fragmentation debris 42 %

Mission-related debris 19 %

Non-functional spacecraft 22 %

NASA has counted > 170 000 000 pieces of space trash around Earth (2013 data) 4. Where is it possible to go wrong? Can the be infinite? How might the observation of oldest objects fail

Observation of the White dwarfs: oldest objects:

For example white dwarfs In fact, you can’t even see the oldest ones How might the main model fail

The main model: ΛCDM: :

Discussed theories It is based on a set If we will ever have are based on ΛCDM of theorems, to adjust these (Lambda cold dark including the theories, the matter) model general theory of predicted age of the relativity universe might change as well Can the theory be wrong?

From a single point: The early laws of Too many questions left : unaswered: Will we ever have a proof that our Could it be possible ? universe isn’t inside that some laws of something else? physics might have Gravitational waves? been slightly (e.g. the crazy idea different at the “early Maybe canadians are that the universe is days”? actually telling the truth? an infinite fractal) 5. Final remarks Yes, you will remember something. Age of the universe ≈ 13,8 · 109 years.

But don’t be too sure about this.

Best data right now:

Planck 2015 Thank you for attention.

Questions are welcome.