This Star Is 14.5 Billion Years Old. Are We Wrong About the Universe’s Age?

Why does the Methuselah star look older than the universe? Astronomers used Hubble observations to estimate the age of HD 140283 at about 14.5 billion years. The universe itself is about 13.8 billion years old. Where did that apparent 700-million-year gap come from? Join Leo on NASASpaceNews as he follows two ways of reading the age of a star. Hubble measured a tiny shift in Methuselah’s position to pin down its distance. Years later, NASA’s TESS telescope detected vibrations that gave astronomers a glimpse inside the star. Even with that new evidence, their best estimate came in at 14.2 billion years. So how can both measurements fit within the age of the universe? Part of the answer lies in a detail hidden in the starlight itself: how much oxygen Methuselah contains. Visit our website for up-to-the-minute updates: www.nasaspacenews.com Follow us Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasaspacenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpacenewsNasa Join this channel to get access to these perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEuhsgmcQRbtfiz8KMfYwIQ/join #NSN #NASA #Astronomy