One thing we know for sure about the universe is that nobody knows for sure how old or big the universe is. The age and size of the universe have been estimated for years using different techniques. The Hubble constant, named after Edwin Hubble, is the estimated rate of the universe's expansion. Using this constant and the measured distance to many different celestial objects, more recent estimates put the age of the universe at somewhere between 8 and 12 billion years old.
The end, right? Wrong! There is almost no doubt the Milky Way contains stars that are at least 14 billion years old. This fact along with the 8 - 12 billion year estimated age of the universe provides us with a fundamental contradiction: the universe may be younger than the stars it contains.
There are many different, intriguing techniques which astronomers are using to measure the age of the universe. The Hubble Space Telescope has been a part of them all but still has yet to provide a satisfactory answer.The most promising methods currently being explored by astronomers are listed below with short descriptions of the information about each one. Select a topic that looks interesting and click on its title to read more in depth information about it. When you are finished reading, you can return to this menu and browse the other methods.
