LONDON (Reuters) - A team of international scientists may have found the answer to a
question that has baffled astronomers for centuries: how old is our universe?

At least 12.5 billion years old, give or take a few billion years, according to new
research published in the science journal Nature on Wednesday.

Roger Cayrel, of the Paris-Meudon Observatory in France, and his colleagues in
Europe, South America and the United States calculated the age of the universe by
taking a different approach.

Instead of measuring the expansion rate of the universe or the velocities of distant
stars, they measured amounts of the radioactive elements thorium and uranium in an
ancient star named CS31082-001 using a technique called radioactive
cosmochronometry.

``The ages of the oldest stars in the galaxy indicate when star formation began and
provide a minimum age for the universe,'' Cayrel said in a study.

By their best calculations CS31082-001 is about 12.5 billion years old, with an error
factor of about three billion years.

In a commentary on the research, Christopher Sneden of the University of Texas in
Austin described the study as a major advance in radioactive cosmochronometry.

``We may expect to find more examples of such stars, as our survey of the galactic halo
with the new generation of very large telescopes is just beginning,'' he said.

``With new discoveries, more age estimates will be found, further nailing down the
exact age of the universe.''

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-Forum Member Who Shall Be Nameless. 11:48am, Jan. 19th, 2001

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"My knowledge and experience far exceeds your own, by, oh, about a BILLION times!" -- Q

A team of international scientists may have found the answer to a question that has baffled astronomers for centuries: how old is our universe?

Again?

But without knowing exactly how such a process works, I can not comment further.

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Read.

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"Okashii na... namida ga nagareteru. Hitotsu mo kanashikunai no ni."
(That's funny... my tears are falling. And I'm not sad at all.) - Quatre Raberba Winner

 

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"One's ethics are determined by what we do when no one is looking" Nugget
Star Trek: Gamma Quadrant
Star Trek: Legacy
Read them, rate them, got money, film them

"...and I remain on the far side of crazy, I remain the mortal enemy of man, no hundred dollar cure will save me..." WoV

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*Kenshiro gets off bed made from solid stone*
*Bed made from solid stone explodes*
Fist of the North Star

[This message has been edited by Gurgeh (edited February 09, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Gurgeh (edited February 09, 2001).]
 

"Universe at Least 12.5 Billion Years Old-Scientists"

Wow. Those are some pretty ancient astronomers...

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My new year's resolution is the same as last year's: 1024x768.
 

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Here lies a toppled god,
His fall was not a small one.
We did but build his pedestal,
A narrow and a tall one.

-Tleilaxu Epigram