Universe may be younger than we thought, study says

According to the standard model of cosmology, scientists carried out calculations to estimate that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old — the calculation is made from the beginning of the Big Bang. However, a newly published study presents new measurements that contradict the Standard Model results and suggest that our universe may be younger than we thought.

Currently, astronomers can estimate the age of the universe through measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), based on the concept of energy and dark matter in the standard model of cosmology.

However, the new study suggests that new measurements of galaxy pairs are in conflict with old results about the age of the universe; researchers point out that perhaps the cosmos is a little younger.

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Based on data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), The study claims that the universe may be younger than the 13.8 billion years suggested. In all, the survey carried out observations in 813 groups of galaxies located approximately 600 million light years from Earth; the study focused on the most massive galaxy in each of these groups.

“We found in the SDSS data that satellite galaxies are just accreting/falling into massive groups, with a stronger signal of continuous assembly compared to simulations with Planck parameters. This suggests that the universe is younger than suggested by Planck observations of the CMB. Unfortunately, this work cannot estimate the age of the Universe in a quantitative way,” said astronomer Guo Qi of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Younger Universe

By analyzing the data, astronomers discovered that the number of satellite galaxies orbiting large galaxies in opposite directions is greater than it should be according to the standard model.

If the information from the new study is correct, it means that something is not correct in the way science establishes the age of the universe and that it is younger than we thought.

The image presents an example of galaxy groups.Source: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys / LBNL / DOE & KPNO / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA

According to science, the expansion rate of the universe is measured using the Hubble constant; Currently, scientists say it has been set at 67.8 kilometers per second per megaparsec — one megaparsec is equal to 3.26 million light years.

Thus, it is possible to measure that the universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. The Hubble tension suggests that the real value of the constant is 72.2 kilometers per second per megaparsec, which works out to 12.6 billion years. This is a paradox known to scientists for a long time..

“Detecting correlations of galaxy velocity, satellites, and voltage with theoretical predictions is robust against changes in sample selection. Using the largest sample to date, our findings demonstrate that the movements of satellite galaxies pose a challenge to the current cosmological model,” the study describes.

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