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Does the Recent Discovery of the Most Distant Star Change the Estimated Age of the Universe?

-- John | April 3, 2022

Diagram depicting the major milestones in the evolution of the Universe since the Big Bang

Question:

With the Hubble telescope discovery of the most distant star ever, WHL0137-LS, nicknamed “Earendel,” which is calculated to be 28 billion light years away, does this effect the current calculated age of the universe, which has been estimated at 13.77 billion years old?

-- John

Answer:

Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope recently reported the discovery of the most distant single star ever identified, whose technical designation is WHL0137-LS, but whom the discovery team has designated “Earendel”, with a measured distance of 12.9 billion light years. Even though this distance places the formation of this star at just 900 million years after the Big Bang, this star’s discovery at such a distance does not change our understanding about the age of the universe. Nor does it appear that this star is a member of the first generation of stars formed, as we believe that the first stars formed soon after the Big Bang.

-- Jeff Mangum

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