[longshadow]

Big time cosmology implications!

[Recovering_Democrat]

The universe is about 13 billion years old, slightly younger than previously believed...

Amazing...13 billion? I could swear, it doesn't look any older than 8 billion. Really.

[longshadow]

cosmological bump!

[FairWitness]

"These are the coolest white dwarf stars that we know about in the universe," said Richer. "These stars get cooler and cooler and less luminous as they age."

He added: "We think we have seen the faintest ones. If we haven't, then we'll have to rethink" the conclusions.

What if some of the white dwarfs have already "gone out"? How would you know?

the Hubble Space Telescope collected light from M4 for eight days over a 67-day period. Only then did the very faintest of the white dwarfs become visible.

If they collected light for an additional 8 days, or 80 days, would additional, "dimmer" white dwarfs become visible?

[ValerieUSA]

Well, it's decided then! Good thing this is cleared up.... until the next estimate is made.

[Risky Schemer]

Study: Universe 13 Billion Years Old

When? Today? I didn't get it a thing. Why didn't someone tell me?

[Reaganwuzthebest]

They don't even know when humans came on the scene - 50,000 years ago? 100,000? How can they ever know how old the universe is? They should concentrate on proving that wonderful theory the dinosaur was wiped out by an asteroid.

These people actually get paid to make educated guesses like this? Where can I get a job like that?

[Cicero]

Give or take a few billion, and until the next theory comes along.

[Verginius Rufus]

These may be the coolest white dwarfs we know about in the universe, but Tommy Daschle is still the coolest white dwarf in the U.S. Senate, at least in his own mind.

[Osinski]

Oh yeah, right. 13 Billion. The whole universe that goes on for infinity. hehechchchee. Who's paying this guy. Please tell me not us.

[DennisR]

Yay! Yet another contradictory story about the age of the earth. These "scientists" (and I use the term loosely) will never get a clue.

[apochromat]

So what's the furthest distance from me that anything in the universe can be?

[LibWhacker]

Huh? Can't be. Just two weeks ago astronomers announced they had discovered the oldest galactic cluster yet, 13.5 billion light years distant. It took at least a billion years for such clusters to form after the Big Bang, putting the age of the Universe at no less than about 15 billion years old. But I do love these contradictions!

[apochromat]

We think we have seen the faintest ones

I have to admire the guys who wouldn't stop looking until they'd found the faintest dwarf. I guess they had a comfortable number of dwarves to work with.

[InvisibleChurch]

what's an appropriate present for a 13 billion year old?

[thrcanbonly1]

A billion here a billion there, soon you will be talking about some real time

[avenir]

Why don't we ever hear a modern scientist say this: “The silence of these infinite spaces terrifies me”?

Pascal trembled at the immensity of the universe and saw no point apart from God. Modern scientists can guess all they want (and who can disprove their claims...after all, no one who existed x-billion years ago is here to disprove them).

The next thing I want to hear from a scientist is that, after having seen the immensity of the universe, they fell on their faces before the Living God who WAS there whenever earth was created.

[techcor]

Happy Birthday Universe!! Shouldn't we set off some supernovas to celebrate?

[lds23]

Just as long as it doesn't start having a mid-life crisis....

[RckyRaCoCo]

Time to change it's shorts?

[ctdonath2]

Study: Universe 13 Billion Years Old

This from the same group of minds which cannot predict a major earthquake 5 minutes before it happens, even though most animals can.