The Oldest Star in the Universe, Is It Older Than the Universe Itself?

3 days ago 6

November 13, 2024 | 12:52 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Methuselah star, cataloged as HD 140283, is the oldest star in the universe. Scientists estimated the long-standing star to be 16 billion years old, as observed via the European Space Agency’s Hipparcos satellite.

Despite being commonly known for more than a century, owing to its fast motion, the exact age of HD 140283 continues to become prevailing questions, like, Can a star be older than the universe itself?

Read on to follow the discussion of the Methuselah star and its reigning significance within the galaxy, as taken from NASA and SPACEdotcom.

The Methuselah Star: Oldest Star in the Universe

In determining the calculated age of the star, a team of astronomers studied the behavior of HD 140283, with the help of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The team applied contemporary theories about the star’s burn rate, chemical abundances, and internal structure.

Seen in the constellation Libra, the Methuselah Star is defined as simply a visitor to our stellar neighborhood, with the high-rate motion being the sole evidence, per NASA. Its orbit is noted to enroute from the ancient halo of stars that encircle the Milky Way to eventually coming back to the galactic halo.

Since the halo stars are considered to be one of the first occupants of our galaxy, NASA further proposed the star possibly formed at a very early time, way before the universe was widely polluted with heavier elements.

However, the star exhibits a higher-than-expected oxygen-to-iron ratio, which suggests that HD 140283 may be younger than previously estimated. The research team believes that further measurements of its oxygen levels could reduce the star's estimated age even more, ultimately confirming that it is unquestionably younger than the universe.

As cited from Spacedotcom, "One of the uncertainties with the age of HD 140283 was the precise distance of the star," Bond, one of the astronomers, said. "It was important to get this right because we can better determine its luminosity and, from that, its age—the brighter the intrinsic luminosity, the younger the star.”

Furthermore, physicist Robert Matthews of Aston University in Birmingham, UK, argued that “the age determination of the universe is subject to more and arguably trickier observational and theoretical uncertainties than that of stars.”

To date, whether the star is colossally older than the universe remains unsolved. The mystery surrounding HD 140283’s age is leading to deeper, more intricate scientific ideas, which need further studies to prove every scenario there is.

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