It’s a finding that has astronomers puzzled: the oldest known star appears older than the universe itself.
Yes, you read that right.
According to a newly released report, an aging star — dubbed HD 140283 — lies 190.1 light-years away from Earth and is reportedly 14.5 billion years old. The problem? The calculated age of the universe is about 13.8 billion years.
The finding is largely the result of a margin of error baked into the calculation. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers were able to refine the star’s age to about 14.5 billion years, plus or minus 800 million years. The margin of error shows the star could have formed during a short period after the big bang, the most likely scenario considering the alternatives. Previous estimates of the star’s age had sitting around sixteen billion years, just over two billion years older than the universe itself.
Still, the finding has left some astronomers stunned.
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