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13.8 billion years ago, a big bang that occupied the space and time gave birth to the universe. The original universe had no celestial bodies, only basic elements such as hydrogen and helium, of which hydrogen accounted for more than 90%. As the universe continued to expand and the temperature cooled down, the first stars were born.
Stars play an important role in the evolution of the universe. They are equivalent to element refining plants that can convert hydrogen into other elements. The first batch of stars were extremely massive and had a very short life span. They soon reached the end, and a supernova explosion occurred.
In the process of nuclear fusion within a star, hydrogen can only be fused to the stage of iron, and more important elements are formed in supernova explosions. Supernova explosion is not the end, but the beginning of a new round of stars. After the supernova explosion of the first batch of stars in the universe, the leftover material forms a nebula and evolves the second batch of stars. This batch of stars is relatively rich, and we are currently The oldest stars that can be observed are actually the second batch of stars.
Stars were born after the Big Bang. According to the universe evolution model, after the Big Bang, the first stars were born after the expansion and the temperature cooled down. This time is about 100 million years after the birth of the universe. So the oldest star in the universe is theoretically no more than 13.7 billion years old.
However, the universe is full of countless secrets. Many observations and discoveries have subverted our cognition. The more we think that the impossible, the more likely it is to happen. Scientists discovered an ancient star in the constellation Libra 190 light-years away: “HD 140283”, named Methuselah.
Methuselah is the oldest star discovered by mankind. There is nothing surprising about discovering an ancient star by itself. However, the discovery of Methuselah has attracted great attention from scientists because of its very special age.
We all know that scientists use the brightness of a star to determine the age of a star. This method is relatively accurate, because the brightness of a star is different in different life stages. Scientists discovered HD 140283, and naturally analyzed its age. In 2000, the European Astronomical Agency measured its age through satellites to be about 16 billion years. Later, a Howard Bond scientist spent 7 years. Time has conducted a detailed study of this star, and got its accurate age should be 13.9 billion years old.
Whether it is 16 billion years old or 13.9 billion years old, scientists are shocked. To know that the age of the universe is only 13.8 billion years, how could the age of Methuselah be older than the age of the universe? Is something wrong?
Scientists have analyzed the composition of Methuselah and found that it is almost composed of hydrogen and helium, and there is no such heavy element as iron inside. This is also in line with the setting of its ancient stars, because at the beginning of the universe, iron The elements and the following important elements are very rare. Therefore, there is no doubt that “HD140283” is an ancient star, so is its age really older than the universe?
As for the age of “HD140283” that is older than the universe, scientists believe that there may be two possibilities. One is that the age of “HD140283” calculated by our analysis is not accurate, and it is much smaller than 13.9 billion years. The other reason is that It is that we may have mistaken the true age of the universe.
So which age is wrong? This may be difficult to give an answer. We judge the age of a star by distance and brightness, and distance is a difficult data to accurately determine, especially for the distance judgment of extrasolar stars. The current human observing ability is not yet available. Accurate data can only be relative data.
After all, Methuselah is 190 light-years away from us. It spans such a large distance. We still cannot judge its distance from the earth more accurately. 190 light-years is only a relatively vague number. If this number is not accurate, it is difficult to judge the age of the star accurately, and there will be a large error on it.
In 2014, the Howard Bond team once again perfected their research, changing the age of Methuselah from the original 14.46 billion years by 800 million years, to the point of 700 million years at 14.27 billion years. If the fluctuation reaches 700 million years, the true age of Methuselah may be less than 13.8 billion years.
The second is the age of the universe. Our current judgment of the age of the universe is based on the Big Bang theoretical model. The “cosmic microwave background radiation map” provided by the Planck probe perfectly verifies this theory and the model of the universe. Using the cosmic microwave background radiation, scientists have calculated that the age of the universe is about 13.8 billion years, which is relatively accurate.
Of course, calculating the age of the universe from the perspective of the cosmic microwave background radiation is indeed 13.8 billion years, but some scientists have also raised doubts that the age of the universe may be much larger than this number, far greater than 13.8 billion years. The reason is that we have ignored the existence of dark matter and dark energy. In the past, we did not know the existence of dark matter and dark energy. However, observational research in recent years has basically confirmed the existence of these two kinds of matter.
The total amount of dark energy and dark matter accounts for more than 70% of the entire universe’s matter. It is no exaggeration to say that dark matter and dark energy may be the real leaders in the evolution of the universe. If dark matter and dark energy are taken into account, then the age of the universe may not be 13.8 billion years, but much larger than this number. Of course, the exact number is still unknown, because we basically don’t know much about dark matter and dark energy.
Regardless of the age of Methuselah or the age of the universe, there is currently no accurate data, so it is difficult for us to judge who is older and who is younger. If, in the future, human beings’ technological prowess is further advanced, it is possible to accurately calculate the age of Methuselah and the age of the universe, and find that the true age of Methuselah is indeed greater than the age of the universe, then what will happen?
If it is determined in the future that the age of Methuselah is greater than the age of the universe, then we have to consider another possibility, which is multiverse. If the universe is not unique, but there are innumerable, then there may be collisions between the universes, and the collision of the universe may allow stars to enter others.
The universe has collided, which is also a conjecture of current scientists. If Methuselah is not a star in our universe, then it would be older than the age of the universe, so it would be no surprise. Of course, this conjecture is even bolder. There is currently no evidence to prove the theory of multiverse, and there is no way to prove that the universe has collided.
Therefore, to understand the mystery of Methuselah’s age, more powerful observation technology is needed. As long as our scientific and technological strength is stronger, we may be able to truly understand the true age of Methuselah and see what it is. Is it bigger or smaller than the universe?