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from the a-long-time-ago-in-a-galaxy-far,-far-away dept.
New approach refines the Hubble's constant and age of universe:
Using known distances of 50 galaxies from Earth to refine calculations in Hubble's constant, a research team led by a University of Oregon astronomer estimates the age of the universe at 12.6 billion years.
Approaches to date the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe, rely on mathematics and computational modeling, using distance estimates of the oldest stars, the behavior of galaxies and the rate of the universe's expansion. The idea is to compute how long it would take all objects to return to the beginning.
A key calculation for dating is the Hubble's constant, named after Edwin Hubble who first calculated the universe's expansion rate in 1929. Another recent technique uses observations of leftover radiation from the Big Bang. It maps bumps and wiggles in spacetime—the cosmic microwave background, or CMB—and reflects conditions in the early universe as set by Hubble's constant.
However, the methods reach different conclusions, said James Schombert, a professor of physics at the UO. In a paper published July 17 in the Astronomical Journal, he and colleagues unveil a new approach that recalibrates a distance-measuring tool known as the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation independently of Hubble's constant.
"The distance scale problem, as it is known, is incredibly difficult because the distances to galaxies are vast and the signposts for their distances are faint and hard to calibrate," Schombert said.
[...] The new study, based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, adds a new element to how calculations to reach Hubble's constant can be set, by introducing a purely empirical method, using direct observations, to determine the distance to galaxies, Schombert said.
"Our resulting value is on the high side of the different schools of cosmology, signaling that our understanding of the physics of the universe is incomplete with the hope of new physics in the future," he said.
Journal Reference:
James Schombert et al, Using the Baryonic Tully–Fisher Relation to Measure H o - IOPscience, The Astronomical Journal (DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ab9d88)
Previously:
New Distance Measurements Bolster Challenge to Basic Model of Universe
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Wednesday July 29 2020, @01:23PM (6 children)
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @02:29PM (1 child)
So if, like me, your head is spinning from all these explanations, you might not be as bright as you thought you were intrinsically?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 30 2020, @01:59AM
Only if the further you are from me, the smarter you think you are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @04:14PM (3 children)
This is what MoND is based on, and the relationship should not exist if GR + dark matter is correct.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 29 2020, @10:43PM (2 children)
So are theories of dark matter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 30 2020, @06:25AM (1 child)
No, theories of dark matter cannot explain it at all. Unless dark matter happens to follow MoND somehow.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 30 2020, @11:35PM
Dark matter just needs to have the right mass distribution. That would follow MOND well enough.